Erythemis, Hagen, 1861

Rodríguez, Fredy Palacino, Sarmiento, Carlos E. & González-Soriano, Enrique, 2015, Morphological variability and evaluation of taxonomic characters in the genus Erythemis Hagen, 1861 (Odonata: Libellulidae: Sympetrinae), Insecta Mundi 2015 (428), pp. 1-68 : 7

Key to Males of Erythemis

1. Dark basal spot on HW absent ..................................................................................................... 2

— Dark basal spot on HW present (in some specimens very pale and small) ............................... 3

2(1). White abdominal appendages ................................................. Erythemis simplicicollis (Say)

— Black abdominal appendages ..................................................... Erythemis collocata (Hagen)

3(1). Dark basal spot on HW not reaching the MP crossvein or AA (Fig. 26); lateral lobe of vesica spermalis extended into posterior region less than medial lobe ( Fig. 20 and 21 ) .................. 4

— Dark basal spot on HW reaching the MP crossvein and AA or beyond (Fig. 26); lateral lobe of vesica spermalis extended into posterior region more than medial lobe ............................... 5

4(3). Thorax and first two or three abdominal segments green; S4-7 green with black or brown stripes in dorsal region; S8-10 all black or brown; radial planate with double cells (Fig. 28) ............. .......................................................................................... Erythemis vesiculosa (Fabricius)

— Thorax, dorsum of abdomen, and basal spot on HW brown (sexually immature M); or thorax and abdominal S1-3 blue and abdominal S4-10 red (mature M); no double cells on radial planate ................................................................................ Erythemis peruviana (Rambur)

5(3). Posterior lobe of vesica spermalis covered by lateral lobe .......................................................... 6

— Posterior lobe of vesica spermalis not covered by lateral lobe ( Fig. 21 ) ..................................... 7

6(5). Thorax and dorsum of abdomen red or reddish-brown; cornua diagonal respect to transverse axis of vesica spermalis ( Fig. 22 and 23 ) ........................... Erythemis mithroides (Brauer)

— Abdominal dorsum black or black and yellow; cornua parallel respect to transverse axis of vesica spermalis ( Fig. 20 ) .......................................................................... Erythemis attala (Selys)

7(5). Dark basal spot on HW reaching the row of marginal cells of the anal angle .......................... 8

— Dark basal spot on HW not reaching the row of marginal cells of the anal angle (Fig. 26) ..... 9

8(7). Dark basal spot on HW reaching the penultimate row of cells of the anal angle (Fig. 26); body black; in lateral view, cornua of vesica spermalis exposed ( Fig. 20 ); vesica spermalis without bilobed hook, instead there are two lobes separated and perpendicular to vesica spermalis longitudinal axis ( Fig. 22 and 24 ) ............................................. Erythemis credula (Hagen)

— Dark basal spot on HW reaching the row of marginal cells of the anal angle (Fig. 26); body brilliant scarlet red or reddish-brown; in lateral view, cornua of vesica spermalis not exposed ( Fig. 19 ); vesica spermalis with bilobed hook ( Fig. 18 ) .. Erythemis carmelita Williamson

9(7). Thorax, dorsum of abdomen, and dark basal spot on HW reddish brown; posterior extension of ventral teeth on cercus about the same level as apex of epiproct or less ( Fig. 13 ), Antr/Lar ≥7.41 .................................................................... Erythemis haematogastra (Burmeister)

— Thorax brown on sides and black on front, dorsum of abdomen brown and black with pale yellow crossbands in S3 and S4-7 (immature male); or thorax and dorsum of abdomen black (mature male); posterior extension of ventral teeth on cercus reaching beyond the apex of epiproct ( Fig. 12 ), Antr/Lar ≤6.21 .................................................... Erythemis plebeja (Burmeister)

Figures

Figures 18–25. Discrete characters of vesica spermalis. Numbers represent the following species:18) E. mithroides, dorsal view; 19) E. carmelita, left side view; 20) E. vesiculosa, left side view; 21) E. peruviana, left side view; 22) E. credula, dorsal wiew; 23) E. haematogastra, right side view; 24) E. credula, finger-shaped structures, dorsal view; 25) E. plebeja, dorsal view. Abbreviations indicate the following characters, C: Cornua; L: Lateral lobe; H: Hook; Pb: Posterior border; M: Medial lobe; P: Posterior lobe; NH: Hook not bilobed.

Figures 10–17. Discrete characters of vulvar lamina, abdominal appendages, thorax, and femur.Numbers represent the following species: 10) E. peruviana female; 11) E. plebeja female; 12) E. simplicicollis male; 13) E. mithroides male; 14) E. vesiculosa male; 15) E. peruviana female; 16) E. vesiculosa female, 17) E. attala male. Abbreviations indicate the following characters, S 8 -S 9: Abdominal segments 8-9; LV: Vulvar lamina; Pb: Posterior border; Vt: Teeth ventral; Ai: Inferior appendage; As: Antehumeral stripe.