Mumbai boys discover a new species of damselfly from Sindhudurg

A doctor and a biologist- both based in Mumbai who share a common passion for studying dragonflies and damselflies have described a new species of damselfly from Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, naming it- Sindhudurg Marsh Dart (Ceriagrion chromothorax). 

What makes this discovery even more fascinating is the fact that there are around 10 species from this genus (Ceriagrion) known from India, but all of them were described by British researchers, making this the first new species being described in this genus from India in about 100 years. 

Damselflies are brightly coloured flying insects and very similar to dragonflies but are comparatively longer and slender. These insects are very important bio-indicators for the environmental health of water bodies and groundwater, and also keep a check on the mosquito population by feeding on their larvae. 

The Sindhudurg Marsh Dart was first spotted in 2017 near a village called Vimaleshwar close to Devgadh in Sindhudurg district by Dattaprasad Sawant who is pursuing his Doctor in Medicine (MD) from KEM. 

“Closer to check dam near the famous Vimaleshwar Shiva temple there is a stream and while I was photographing odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) at that spot, I happened to notice this bright yellow damselfly and photographed it. However on closer observation, it looked different and I realized that despite coming to the same spot for past three years I had not spotted this species,” said Sawant adding that the species was overall similar to another common species Coromandel Marsh Dart but there were clear differences in its size and coloration. 

He immediately sent the images to Shantanu Joshi curator of Odonata at Research Collections, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru for identification, who asked for few specimens, which were captured and sent for further study. 

“While it was primarily confirmed that this was something different, we needed more specimen including female for confirming it, but the problem staring at us was that this damselfly could only be spotted between the end of July to the beginning of September," Sawant shared.

The duo then waited for a year and in 2018 managed to capture a mating pair and few others, which was used to carry out study for identification 

Joshi after carrying out a detailed study of its features confirmed that this was a new species and endemic of Western Ghats and both Joshi and Sawant decided to publish a scientific paper. The paper was finally published on Monday May 27 in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.

“The key features of Sindhudurg Marsh Dart are its bright yellow and slightly longer body. This species is only known from only two localities very close to each other in an agricultural landscape making it important to conduct surveys in similar habitats to understand its distribution, ecology and threat status,” said Joshi who co-authored the paper. 

Experts believe that despite playing an important role in biodiversity and being photographers delight due to their wonderful colours, the dragonflies and damselflies continued to be ignored even by the scientific community as there are hardly major studies carried out on these fascinating flying jewels. 

Western Ghats is a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot. More than 193 species of dragonflies and damselflies (collectively known as odonates) are found in this region, with 40% of them being endemic. 

Difference between Dragonflies and Damselflies: 

Dragonflies 
Most have eyes that touch at top of the head
Dissimilar wings with hind wings broader at base
Body is stocky
Wings held open horizontally when resting 

Damselflies:
Eyes are separate on each side of the head
Long and slender body
Wings are similar in shape held closed above abdomen when resting