Critical species of Odonata in eastern Africa

From eastern Africa, ranging from Somalia and Ethiopia south to Mozambique and Zimbabwe and west to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Botswana, ca 500 species of Odonata are known.Comments on species and sites of conservation concern are given as well as recommendations for future research and conservation activities.Due to the rapid and ongoing destruction of forests, especially of coastal, Guineo-Congolian and Eastern Arc forests, species confined to these habitats are the most threatened. REGIONAL DEFINITIONEastern Africa is not a fixed political or geographical description for a specific area.Here the term is used for the region comprising the Rift Valley from Ethiopia southward to Mozambique and northern Botswana and westward to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and eastern Angola.The neighbouring regions are covered to the south by Sam ways (2004 ), to the southwest by Suhling et al. (2004 ), to the west by Dijkstra & Vick (2004) and to the north by Jodicke et al. (2004).As biogeography and faunistic distributions do not follow political borders, there may be overlaps with neighbouring regions.The area considered here covers some of the most important centres for endemism and regions of high biodiversity in Africa, namely forested mountain chains along the Albertine Rift and the Eastern Arc and coastal forests (e.g.Kingdon 1989;Fjeldsa & Lovett 1997;Burgess et al. 1998;Burgess & Clarke 2000).Tanzania is often considered as one of the "richest and most diverse countries in Africa in terms of both species and habitats" (Stuart et al. 1990: 204).The dominating landscapes in eastern Africa are dry thorn bush (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania), montane forests of highlands, isolated volcanoes and mountain chains (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania), montane grasslands (Malawi, Tanzania), Guineo-Congolian rain forest (Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], Uganda, western Kenya), coastal forest (Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique) and miombo woodlands and savanna (Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia).