Lost in Time: Re-description and Ecological Re-assessment of two Indian Endemic Elattoneura Cowley, 1935 (Platycnemididae) Damselflies

Pankaj Kopardea , Sridhar Halalib, Ashish Tiplec, Parag Ranganekard, Amol Sonawanee, Arajush Payraf, Prosenjit Dawng, Ashwini Rajuh, K.A. Subramaniani

  1. School of Ecology & Environmental Management, Faculty of Sustainability Studies, MIT World Peace University, Kothrud, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  2. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB23EJ, UK
  3. PG Department of Zoology, Vidyabharati College, Seloo, Wardha, Maharashtra, India
  4. Foundation for Environment Research Conservation, No. 407, III-A, Susheela Seawinds, Alto-Vaddem, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa, India
  5. Jijamata Mahavidyalaya, Sarati, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra, India
  6. Ramnagar, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India
  7. Department of Zoology, Shyampur Siddheswari Mahavidyalaya, Ajodhya, Howrah, West Bengal
  8. Kalap Trust, G-207, Doon Trafalgar Extension, Dhoran Road, Village Dhorankhas, Pargana Parwadoon, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
  9. Southern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, 130, Santhome High Road, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 24, Pages 82-94, 2021
https://doi.org/10.23797/2159-6719_24_6
Published: 11 August 2021 (Received: 3 June 2020, Accepted: 30 November 2020)

Abstract

The Indian Elattoneura are a difficult group to identify due to their extreme morphological similarity and sparse information in identification keys and on geographical distribution. The ambiguity is prominent among two Peninsular Indian Elattoneura species, E. nigerrima (Laidlaw, 1917) and E. tetrica (Laidlaw, 1917), described a hundred years ago. Both species were described based on male specimens with scant information on their females. The species are IUCN Red-listed, E. nigerrima (Data Deficient) and E. tetrica (Least Concern). Hitherto it was thought that E. nigerrima was smaller than E. tetrica and both have non-overlapping geographical distribution. Here, we re-describe both sexes of E. nigerrima; E. tetrica along with morphometric data and geospatial analysis. We found that E. nigerrima is significantly larger than E. tetrica. The species are largely allopatric in distribution, with the former having a much wider spatial distribution than previously thought. Based on our geospatial analysis, we provide occurrence data useful for the future IUCN assessments of E. nigerrima and E. tetrica. We highlight the importance of updating taxonomic status information and data on spatiotemporal distribution to proceed with the conservation of endemic insects such as Elattoneura damselflies. Our study indicates ecological and threat assessments of Indian Odonata species are urgently needed.

Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, citizen science, conservation, Morphometry, re-description, Peninsular India, threadtails

Issue section: Original article

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