Counting the spots: A molecular and morphological evaluation of the spotted darner, Boyeria (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnidae)

Boyeria is a Holarctic dragonfly genus that has eight species. The Mediterranean B. irene occurs in southern Europe: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany and northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. A morphologically similar species, also found in Europe, is B. cretensis. This species is endemic to the Island of Crete in Greece. In 1991 Peters first distinguished B. cretensis from B. irene based on some morphological characters. However, this description focused on just five adult males collected in Crete. In 1998, Boudot described differences in color patterns of adult B. cretensis and B. irene males based on two photographs. Even though these characters suggest differences among the two Boyeria, the subtlety of the characters brings in question the validity of these species.

No prior phylogenetic analysis has been recovered to test the monophyly of Boyeria or its intrageneric relationships. In this present work, we determine whether B. irene and B. cretensis are indeed different species, and evaluate species relationships within the genus Boyeria.