Odonata of the Serra de Sao Jose - Brazil's first Wildlife Reserve aimed at the conservation of dragonflies

摘要

Surveys of the odonate fauna of the Serra de Sao Jose were carried out between 1996 and 2012, resulting in records of 128 species, including 49 Zygoptera and 79 Aniso-ptera, grouped in 10 families and 53 genera, with seven new species records for thestate of Minas Gerais. The high species richness can be attributed to the existence of a varied set of natural and artificial freshwater biotopes, placed in distinct physiographic contexts along a contact zone between Brazil's Atlantic Forest and Cerradohotspots. This area figures as a priority site for biodiversity conservation in the State of Minas Gerais, and in 2004 became Brazil s first protected area dedicated to the conservation of odonates and their freshwater habitats.