Photo Courtesy: northeasttoday
Itanagar: A rare dragonfly species, the Gynacantha khasiaca, has been documented in Arunachal Pradesh after a 110-year absence. Commonly referred to as the long-tailed duskhawker, the insect was last described in 1914 within the historical Abor Hills region.
A team of four citizen scientists, Mahesh R., Rajesh Gopinath, Gaurav Joshi, and Roshan Upadhaya, confirmed the rediscovery in October 2024. The sighting occurred at Deban in the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve, located about 600 kilometers from the original record. The researchers captured photographs of a male specimen patrolling and defending its territory along the Miao-Vijoynagar Road at an altitude of 600 meters.
Published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, the report notes that the team identified 17 different Odonata species during their survey. While this is the first record in the area in over a century, the long-tailed duskhawker has been previously documented in other parts of India, including Assam, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, as well as in Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
The rediscovery underscores the significance of habitat protection and ongoing biodiversity monitoring in India’s easternmost state. Arunachal Pradesh serves as a vital habitat for Odonata, hosting 110 of the 504 species found across the country. These insects are essential to freshwater ecosystems, serving as both predators and prey.
Comments