Umma (genus)

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Umma
Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Dragonflies (Odonata)
Subordination : Dragonfly (Zygoptera)
Superfamily : Calopterygoidea
Family : Demoiselle (Calopterygidae)
Genre : Umma
Scientific name
Umma
Kirby , 1890

Umma is a genus of the magnificent dragonflies . The ten known species live in tropical Africa.

features

They are relatively large dragonflies, with hind wing lengths between 26 and 38 millimeters. The abdomen is extremely long and slender, it noticeably towers above the wing tips when at rest. Umma species are predominantly metallic green to bluish green in color (some species have a black abdomen), in many species the wing veins are also metallic green and give the wings a clear metallic sheen. In contrast to the genus Sapho , the wings are not extensively colored blue-metallic, and the wing mark Pterostigma is smaller; in some species it is completely absent. The closely related genus Sapho is very similar. Umma can be distinguished from this by the following features: The labium is colored pure black, without light parts; the humeral and interpleural sutures (contrasting colored connecting sutures between different trunk sclerites) are not framed by pale drawing elements. In addition, the following features of the wing veins are typical: The discoidal field of the forewing (a wing section in the rear area) is in a single row in front of the nodus and widens to 15 to 25 cells up to the wing edge, the base of the anal artery of the forewing points towards the base of the wing.

The larvae of Umma are, as far as is known, relatively compact. The thighs (femora) of their legs are flattened. On the abdomen are three rows of thorns, one in the middle and one on each side. On the antennae, the first link is about the same length as the rest together.

Habitat

Umma species live in small to medium-sized rivers , often with sandy bottoms. The larvae sit as ambulance hunters on the bottom of the water, often hidden between tree roots on the bank, where they wait motionless for prey swimming by. The species live in forests, or in the area of gallery forests in open habitats. In most regions there is only one species at a time, but sometimes up to three live sympatric . In the rainforests of Central Africa the three species Umma mesostigma , Umma longistigma and Umma gumma often occur side by side in the same body of water.

distribution

The genus is restricted to tropical Africa.

Taxonomy and systematics

The generic name Umma was introduced by William Kirby in 1890 . The genus was actually already described by Selys in 1853 , but the generic name Cleis assigned by him is homonymous to two older names, Cleis Guérin, 1831 (a butterfly genus) and Cleis Mulsant, 1850 (a beetle genus), so Kirby's name is used as a substitute name must become. The genus forms with the equally African genus Phaon Selys, 1853 and Sapho Selys, 1853 the tribe Saphoini . The relationship was confirmed using phylogenomic methods. Since not enough species have been tested yet, there are still doubts about the monophyly of the genera.

species

As far as we know today, the genus includes the following species:

swell

  • Genus Umma Kirby, 1890, sparklewings In Dijkstra, K.-DB (editor). African Dragonflies and Damselflies Online. http://addo.adu.org.za .
  • Frank Suhling, Ole Müller, Andreas Martens (2014): The dragonfly larvae of Namibia (Odonata). Libellula Supplement 13: 5-106.
  • K.-DB Dijkstra, VJ Kalkman, RA Dow, FR Stokvis, J. van Tol (2014): Redefining the damselfly families: a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Zygoptera (Odonata). Systematic Entomology 39: 68-96. doi: 10.1111 / syen.12035 .
  • Matti Hämäläinen: Calopterygoidea of ​​the World. A synonymic list of extant extant damselfly species of the superfamily Calopterygoidea sensu lato. privately published by the author. Espoo, Finland 2016.
  • Elliot Pinhey (1969): On the genus Umma Kirby (Odonata). Arnoldia (Rhodesia) 4 (17): 1-11.

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