¹ State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Administration of the Protected Landscape Area Latorica, M.R.Štefánika 1755, SK-075 01 Trebišov, Slovakia [slavka.minova@sopsr.sk, milos.balla@sopsr.sk]

² Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Branch Nitra, Akademická 2, SK-949 01 Nitra, Slovakia [stanislav.david@savba.sk]

Received: 25.3.2010; Accepted: 18.11.2010; Published: 4.5.2011

The occurrence of a Hemianax ephippiger from Slovakia is reported for the first time.

Odonata, Aeschnidae, Slovakia, Hemianax ephippiger, first finding.

According to the checklist of the dragonflies of Slovakia, 74 dragonflies species are known in Slovakia (David 2000a). Three new faunistic records have been published (Coenagrion armatum – David 2000b, Cordulegaster heros ssp. heros – Blaškovič et al. 2003, Leucorrhinia caudalis – Kúdela et al. 2004) since then. This faunistical notes refer to Hemianax ephippiger – is reported from Slovakia for the first time. The Hemianax ephippiger (Burmeister, 1839) is an eremial faunal element (Dévay 1976). The species inhabits and breeds in the small standings, temporary and occasionally brackish water bodies. It is the dragonfly species, occupying the desert and semidesert territories in the southern Palaearctic region. It is widespread in Africa, in the Middle East, in the south-west Asia to Pakistan and habitats in the Mediterranean Region eg. Spain, south of France, central Italy (Askew 1988), but sometime as a strongly migratory species migrate across Europe to the Arctic Circle. There are a few records from Austria (near Vienna in 1989, Schweiger-Chwala 1990), the Czech Republic (5 localities in Moravia and Silesia in 1995, Holuša 1997) and in the western Poland (7 localities in 1995, Bernard & Musial 1995). It seems, according to an occurrence in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, the species has been increased frequency an invasions in Central Europe. The Hemianax ephippiger (Figure 1) is a rare component in the European dragonfly fauna, in the IUCN Red List it is evaluated in the category LC - least concern (www.iucnredlist.org).

A part of the research was supported by the grant No. 1/0590/10 of the Scientific Grant Agency VEGA.