Thecagaster charpentieri iranica ssp. nov.—description of the exuviae and the imagines (Odonata: Cordulegastridae)

A new subspecies Thecagaster charpentieri iranica ssp. nov. is described. It is a large and impressive cordulegastrid restricted to Southeast Iran. This region represents the southeastern limit of the genus Thecagaster Selys, 1854 and of the family Cordulegastridae in the West Palaearctic. Beside its size, as one of the largest dragonflies in the region, it also exhibits morphological differences in both exuviae and imagines when compared with Thecagaster c. charpentieri (Kolenati, 1846). The adults from Fãrs and Kermãn Provinces in Iran and the exuviae of this subspecies are described in detail. The process of emergence is documented. A phylogenetic comparison of the specimens of the new subspecies with the nominotypical taxon and other closely related species of the genus based on the analysis of COI and ND4 genes of mtDNA is shown, and the history of Morton’s “race nobilis” is discussed.