Taxonomic Studies of The Two Families Gomphidae and Macromiidae (Odonata: Anisoptera) from Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia- Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Even though, works on the taxonomy of Odonata have acquired awareness worldwide, the African continent as well as Egypt is one of the least explored localities. Thus, there is an urgent need to conduct comprehensive taxonomic reviews of the order Odonata in Egypt.  In the current work, the dragonflies of the two families Gomphidae and Macromiidae are reviewed. Field trips in 49 localities inside 11 Egyptian governorates did not result in collecting any specimens. Therefore, the study is based only on the materials that are preserved in the main Egyptian reference collections in addition to the previous literature.  As a result, a total of two genera and four species for the two families were identified. Taxonomic keys with illustrations of Egyptian genera and species are provided. In addition, diagnosis, world distribution and material examined were given for each species. Also, type genera, type species and type locality are given. The status of the species was discussed.

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