Rhionaeschna joannisi (Martin, 1897)

Bota, Cornelio Andrés, 2014, A brief look at the Odonata from the Páramo ecosystems in Colombia, with the descriptions of Oxyallagma colombianum sp. nov. and Rhionaeschna caligo sp. nov. (Odonata: Coenagrionidae, Aeshnidae, Libellulidae), Zootaxa 3856 (2), pp. 192-210 : 200

Rhionaeschna joannisi (Martin, 1897)

Fig. 2 f (Habitus ♂), Table 1 (coordinates).

Examined páramo material. 1 ♂ and 1♀: Páramo Las Baldías, 15.vi.2002, Leg: J. A. Posada.

Remarks. In the male, and in two additional males collected outside the páramo ecosystem, the epiproct reaches to more than half of cercus length, while in the illustration of male S10 provided by von Ellenrieder (2003) of a specimen of R. joannisi from Ecuador the epiproct is about as long as half of cercus length. In all Colombian specimens there is a metepisternal stripe ( Fig. 2 f), which is incomplete or broken into separate spots in the specimens from Ecuador and Bolivia illustrated by von Ellenrieder (2003).

Distribution. From Bolivia to Colombia (von Ellenrieder 2003) across the Andean region from 1,100 to 3,130 m. These are the first records from Colombia since Needham’s record from Popayán in 1912 ( Calvert 1956), and the known distributional range is expanded by four degrees north from 2°40’ to 6°19’.

Biology. Despite being widely distributed, the species seems to be rare. I have never seen a live specimen. It inhabits small ponds in the páramo and high mountain forests of the northern Central Cordillera in Colombia.

Figures

FIGURE 2. (a) Rhionaeschna peralta female (habitus). Rhionaeschna caligo: (b) Hamuli, ventroposterior view; (c) Caudal appendages lateral view; (d) Vesica spermalis ventral view; (e) left spine of anterior lamina. (f) Rhionaeschna joannisi male (habitus). Illustrations by Natalia Uribe Macias.