New records of critically endangered damselfly species Coenagrion hastulatum (Charpentier, 1825) in Serbia

Abstract

This paper reports the second known locality of Coenagrion hastulatum (Charpentier, 1825), a damselfly species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Republic of Serbia. Previously known from a single locality on Mt. Golija, the species is now considered Critically Endangered (CR) and possibly regionally extinct. The last published record dates to the late 20th century, and field surveys in the past decade have failed to confirm its presence. A newly discovered population was recorded in 2021 and 2022 in a group of small ponds at the edge of the Special Nature Reserve “Park Šuma Ivlje” on Mt. Zlatar (southwestern Serbia), along with 16 other Odonata species. The extremely small habitat, its isolation, and increasing anthropogenic pressures suggest that the species is even more threatened than previously assumed, highlighting the urgent need for conservation action.