Odonates from Mato Grosso and southern Para, Amazonian Brazil, November 2008 : |
From November 12 - 24, 2008 Sheridan and I were on a birding trip to south-central Brazil, and while there I tried to photograph every odonate that came my way. Sites visited were:
A small clear flowing forest stream on the Chapada dos Guimaraes - a spectacular sandstone outcrop east of Cuiaba the captial of Mato Grosso state (= CDG).
Along the banks and within half-a-mile of the Rio Azul at Pousada Rio Azul in southern Para state c. 4 hours by vehicle north of Alta Floresta, northern Mato Grosso state (=PRA).
Roadside swampy ponds with riparian edges in mostly cleared ranchland between Rio Azul and Rio Cristalino (=RSP).
Along the Rio Cristalino and in forest within half-a-mile of the river at Cristalino Jungle Lodge, northernmost Mato Grosso state (=CJL).
Along a forested road close to the banks of the Rio Teles Pirres near Cristalino Jungle Lodge (=RTP).
NOTE: The numbers assigned on this page to each entry correspond to those used in the image filenames; entries are grouped as best I can by morphological type and therefore are not in numerical order:
13): on thin twigs overhanging the river at PRA; perched within 1 foot of the surface. Per Dennis Paulson: Epipleoneura westfalli:
22): almost the same spot as 13) above, and thus probably the same individual, a day later.
14):
perched on tall emergent grass at a RSP 5 kms south of PRA; this small pool was formed by a small obstruction in a narrow stream flowing across mostly pasture, with some scattered patches of secondary and primary forest. Per Dennis Paulson: a Drepanoneura or Epipleoneura :
24): along narrow enclosed forest trail with scattered small sunlight patches with extensive unbroken primary forest, within 200 yards of the river at CJL. These were the only two I saw in this environment, and both were feeding by closely inspecting plants in a sunlit patch, flying between ankle and waist high. Per Dennis Paulson: a Epipleoneura; probably undescribed:
the second male presumeably of the same taxon, feeding within 3 feet on the individual above; in life they looked slighly different, but less-so in these images Per Dennis Paulson: a different Epipleoneura; probably undescribed::
