List of odonates from Mata do Baú, Barroso, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

A survey of odonatofauna was carried out in Mata do Baú, a predominantly forested area in Barroso, Minas Gerais, regarded as a priority area for conservation and scientific investigation, as published by Biodiversitas, a Brazilian nongovernmental institution. Sample collection was conducted over twenty-six days from November 2009 to February 2011. Fifty-seven species of Odonata were collected and grouped into 30 genera and nine families. The dominant families were Libellulidae (46.5%), Coenagrionidae (20.6%), and Megapodagrionidae (10.3%). A specimen of Heteragrion obsoletum (Selys, 1886) was collected, which to-date is known by a single specimen collected in 1880 and red-listed as endangered. Special attention was given to the presence of five species of the genus Heteragrion, strictly limited to lotic forest streams, with two new species’. This genus is especially sensitive to environmental deterioration, indicating that the forest stream’s environmental conditions are beneficial to the area and create a baseline for future monitoring of similar environments.