The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Angola: An Updated Synthesis

Prior to 2012, only 158 species of Odonata were known from Angola. Surveys in 2012 and 2013 added 76 species and further additions in 2016 brought the national total to 236 species. This was published earlier in 2017 as the checklist of the dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of Angola by the same authors (Kipping et al. Afr Invertebr 58 (I):65–91. https://africaninvertebrates.pensoft.net/article/11382/ , 2017) on which this chapter is based. Records obtained in 2017 and 2018 and a survey by two of the authors in December 2017 led to the discovery of 25 additional species, of which several are undescribed. We provide a revised checklist here comprising 260 species and discuss the history of research, the biogeography of the fauna with endemism and the potential for further discoveries. The national total is likely to be above 300 species. This would make Angola one of the richest countries for Odonata in Africa.