What is Enallagma cyathigerum cf. rotundatum?
In 1929 Bartenev described Enallagma rotundatum from Krasnaya Polyana at Sochi (in the very south of Russia, just Northeast from Georgia, see map). The description is brief and the illustration is rather poor. The most important character of this subspecies is the rounded superior appendages. The figure and the description could fit to the characters of Enallagma cyathigerum risi, which was described in 1962 by Schmidt and which ranges from Saratov Province (1000km north from the Caucasus) throughout southern Siberia, Central Asia and Mongolia. If so, the name rotundatum would have a priority over risi. On the other hand, humid mountain conditions of the Sochi area are not those in which risi would be expected. As Bartenev's types are lost the examination of topotypical material would be of critical importance in solving this puzzle. In order to sort this out I would like to know if anyone could loan me specimens of Enallagma from the Sochi Area.
In december 2002 in Odonatologica an excellent article appeared on the three subspecies of Enallagma cyathigerum with the description appendages superior (Samroui, Weekers & Dumont, 2002). The difference between the appendages from the upper side is clearly shown.(click to enlarge).
Fig 1 Enallagma cyathigerum cf. rotundatum from Karagöl Northern-Turkey, just south of Georgia (collection, M. Wasscher, 17 August 2002)
