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News: Odonatologists have reconfirmed the elusive dragonfly Crocothemis erythraea in the high-elevation southern Western Ghats.
About Crocothemis Erythraea
- The scarlet dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
- Its common names include broad scarlet, common scarlet-darter, and scarlet darter.
- Distribution: High-elevation Southern Western Ghats; also Himalayas, parts of Europe and Asia.
- Migration: Likely reached southern India during Pleistocene cooling.
- Species in India: The Indian genus has two species: C. ervilia and C. erythraea.
- Crocothemis servilia
- Distribution: It is widespread in Indian lowlands where it is frequently recorded.
- Appearance: It resembles erythraea which has been a source of past confusion.
- Crocothemis erythrae:
- Names: Broad scarlet / common scarlet-darter / scarlet darter.
- Appearance: Male bright scarlet with a broad, flattened abdomen; small amber patches at hindwing bases; red leading veins.
- Females/immatures yellow-brown with a pale stripe on the thorax.
- Signifiance of discovery
- This discovery confirms two similar dragonflies share the Western Ghats.
- It fixes past misidentifications, directs surveys to cool highlands for erythraea, supports protecting those habitats, and shows how Ice Age climates helped the species reach southern India.
- Crocothemis servilia
