New striped yellow dragonfly discovered in Goa, Kerala

Cleared 315, plus gfx sent to Sharmila, Myola
Panaji: A new dragonfly species, cyclogomphus flavoannulatus, was recently discovered from Goa and Kerala. Belonging to the Clubtail family, the dragonfly has been named referring to the yellow coloured rings on its abdomen.
The species which is new to science is said to have been documented in a photograph taken in Kerala.However, it wasn’t until 2013 that researcher Parag Rangnekar stumbled on the dragonfly in Goa.
This led to a series of surveys spanning in the two regions by Rangnekar along with his colleague Omkar Dharwadkar and two researchers Kalesh Sadasivan and KA Subramanian from the Zoological Survey of India to publish their findings in the journal Zootaxa.
“The first step towards long-term conservation is knowing what we have. Systematic surveys, especially of lesser fauna, is the need of the hour. Such discoveries highlight that our forests are rich in diversity and still remain unexplored,” said Rangnekar.
The research revealed that the adult flight period is for a short time between September-October. This coupled with the fact that the species likes to remain in the undergrowth makes it difficult to sight in the field.
During their surveys, the team found several male and female flies of the new species, the specimens of which are now deposited at the research collection of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru.
The specimen from Goa was collected from Bolcornem near Tambdi-Surla in Village Panchayat Sancordem on the border of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Goa is unique, being at the confluence of the northern and southern Western Ghats. We are optimistic that more explorations will reveal some of its hidden treasures,” said Dharwadkar.
Only 22 species of dragonfly were known till 2008. Systematic surveys over the last decade have seen the number rise to 103 till date, which includes another species described in 2012 named the Goan Shadowdancer (idionyx gomantakensis).
Gfx:
Wings of Change
Oct 2010 | The first photographic record of this new species was made by VC Balakrishnan from Nilambur, Malapuram district, Kerala
2013 | The first two authors photographed and collected the holotype of this new species, which was attracted to light during the Odonata survey of Goa at Surla
Sept 2014 | the third author photographed and collected one paratype male specimen from a garden pond in a homestead at Thenmalai, Kollam district, Kerala
Sept 2015 | David Raju and Prosenjit Dawn made detailed photographic records of a male specimen during the Dragonfly India Survey of Thatekkad Wildlife Sancturay, Ernakulam
From 2015 to 2018 | Several attempts were made to collect more specimens from the type in Goa, without any success