List of the Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of Spain and Portugal, including the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores
by John Muddeman, Mike Lockwood and Teresa Farino
Updated January 2015

Red-veined Darter female
Sympetrum fonscolombii © John Muddeman

The previous version of the list (November 2012) has been updated mainly using a series of mainly on-line reports, confirming the presence of one species and adding one more. This is further to the revision following publication of Libellula Supplement 9 (Boudot et al. 2009), which covers the entire Mediterranean region (but excludes the Azores) and comments regarding the genus Ischnura in the Canary islands (Sánchez-Guillén, R. A. & Cordero-Rivera, A. pers comm). The base list was compiled principally using data from the CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) and also that in Scriptus Naturae by F. Ocharan Larrondo concerning species present in peninsular Spain, and that for the Canary Islands in Ashmole & Ashmole (1989). Some additional information comes from Baixeras (2006). The list for Portugal and Macaronesia comes primarily from a recent paper in the Journal of Odonatology (Ferreira et al. 2006; with thanks to Florian Weihrauch), which has also influenced the status of some species reported for Spain.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

Nomenclature and systematic treatment follows that of the most comprehensive, readily available and up to date treatment of the group in English (Dijkstra & Lewington 2006), though we have placed Ceriagrion before Coenagrion in the systematic list. This updates the earlier treatment given by Askew (2004), itself updated with more recent changes in systematic treatment regarding a few species noted by Mill et al. (2004) ^B and Ocharan Larrondo. Given these mainly minor discrepancies between lists (e.g. C. xanthostoma, A. isoceles, C. boltonii), alternative scientific names are noted (and sourced) where significantly different. We have also updated the taxonomy of the Brachythemis present following Dijkstra & Matushkina (2010).

Black Percher
Diplacodes lefebvrei © John Muddeman

English vernacular names are those in Dijkstra & Lewington (2006) which are not only markedly different from those in Mill et al. (2004), but also provide vernacular names for the first time of many species in the region. Given the large number of differences due to the attempt at standardising the newly proposed names, we also provide the 'old' names (where available) of Mill et al. (2004) in the numbered footnotes, plus using those in d'Aguilar et al. (1986) ^A for those species where no name was provided. There appears to be no list of vernacular names in Spanish or Portuguese available at present.

Distribution

Violet Dropwing
Trithemis annulata © John Muddeman

In total 79 species (28 damselflies; 50 dragonflies; 34 genera; including 1 extinct species and genus) of Odonata have been recorded in mainland Spain (including the Balearic Islands), with 63 species cited from mainland Portugal (23 damselflies; 40 dragonflies; 29 genera). In the Canary Islands just 15 species (3 damselflies; 12 dragonflies; 9 genera; 1 damselfly and 3 dragonflies are apparently vagrants) have been recorded, of which two resident damselfly, plus two resident and one vagrant dragonfly species do not or have not occurred in the rest of Spain. Of special note is Sympetrum (striolatum) nigrifemur, a Macaronesian endemic shared with Madeira. On Madeira 7 species (2 damselflies; 5 dragonflies; 3 genera) have been recorded. On the Azores 6 species are known (1 damselfly; dragonflies; 3 genera), including a damselfly of Nearctic origin found nowhere else in the Western Palearctic. This gives a total of 84 confirmed species in 33 genera in Spain (including 1 extinct species and genus), 65 species in 30 genera in Portugal and 85 species in 34 genera overall (including 1 extinct species and genus)

Given that it is extremely difficult to get accurate, up-to-date information on the distribution of the majority of the species in Spain, readers are referred to both the atlas mapping of Boudot (2009) and the range maps in Dijkstra & Lewington (2006) for maps of approximate distribution. However, it should be taken into account Sahara Bluetail
Ischnura saharensis © John Muddemanthat a number of species with a formerly very southerly distribution are expanding their ranges northwards. This is the case, for example, of Brachythemis leucosticta which has recently been recorded from central Valencia and the lakes of La Mancha, Trithemis annulata, cited from the Asturian coast, and both Platycnemis subdilatata and Trithemis kirbyi recorded in coastal S Andalucía. In contrast, Coenagrion puella is expanding southwards in north-eastern Spain. Within the table, links are provided to maps and other information of this nature for a few of the species.

Please feel free to contact us to comment on the list, as our aim is to provide more detailed information in the future.

If you'd like to observe and photograph dragonflies in Madrid or Extremadura, join John on a Dragonflies, Birds & Butterflies tour to Extremadura or contact John about options for a Tailor-made Trip

List

Reference numbers within the table refer to the footnotes.
In the Distribution column, MS = mainland Spain, BI = Balearic Islands, CI = Canary Islands,
MP = mainland Portugal, Ma = Madeira, A = Azores

Note: Green Snaketail (Ophiogomphus cecilia) is not included in the list since there are apparently no confirmed records in Spain of the species and the records from Portugal have been revised and the species is no longer considered to have been present (Ferreira et al. 2006). Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum) is also not included following Ferreira et al. (2006).

Footnotes

Bibliography

Ashmole, M. & Ashmole, P. (1989). Natural History Excursions in Tenerife. Kiston Mill Press, Peebles, Scotland.

Askew, R. (2004). The Dragonflies of Europe. 2nd Ed. Harley Books, Colchester.

d'Aguilar, J., Dommanget, J.-L. & Préchac, R. (1986). A Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Europe and North Africa. English Edition, Collins.

Baixeras, J. (Ed.) (2006). Les libèl·lules de la Comunitat Valenciana. Conselleria de Territori y Habitatge, Generalitat Valenciana.

Boudot, J.-P., Kalkman, V. J., Azpilicueta Amorín, M., Bogdanovic, T., Cordero Rivera, A., Degabriele, G., Dommanget, J.-L., Ferreira, S., Garrigós, B., Jovic, M., Kotarac, M., Lopau, W., Marinov, M., Mihokovic, N., Riservato, E., Samrauoi, B. & Schneider, W. (2009). Atlas of the Odonata of the Mediterranean and North Africa. Libellula Supplement 9.

^D Dantart, J. & Martín, R. (1999). Somatochlora metallica (Van der Linden, 1825) (Odonata: Corduliidae) y Leucorrhinia pectoralis (Charpentier, 1825) (Odonata: Libellulidae), dos nuevas especies para la Península Ibérica. Boletín Asociación española de Entomología, 23 (1-2): 147.

Dijkstra, K-D. B. & Lewington, R. (2006). Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. British Wildlife Publishing, Milton on Stour, Dorset, UK.

Hämäläinen, M. (1986). Note on the misidentification of the first Zygoptera material from the Canary Islands. Notulae Odonatologicae 2: 131-132.

Mill, P., Taylor, P. & Parr, A. (2004). Vernacular Names for British and European Dragonflies. Atropos 23: 33-35.

Photos and further ID information can also be found on a number of excellent websites:
Odonates du Paléarctique Ouest (in French; W Palearctic)
Odonata (in Spanish; mainland Spain)
Oxygastra (in English / Catalan; Catalonia)

In addition, information (in Spanish) for taxa considered threatened within Spain can be found on the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente website. A document (in Catalan) covering the invertebrates (including 15 Odonata) to be protected in Catalonia may also be seen here (6,57 MB .pdf file).