{"id":355828,"date":"2026-02-11T11:32:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T06:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=355828"},"modified":"2026-02-11T11:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T06:02:55","slug":"lyriothemis-keralensis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/lyriothemis-keralensis\/","title":{"rendered":"Lyriothemis Keralensis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Recently researchers have confirmed the discovery of a new dragonfly species from Kerala\u2019s low-lying coastal plains, named Lyriothemis keralensis\u00a0 commonly called the <em data-start=\"195\" data-end=\"215\">Slender Bombardier<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>About Lyriothemis keralensis<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_355829\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-355829\" style=\"width: 478px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-355829 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-11-111455.png?resize=478%2C265&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Lyriothemis keralensis\" width=\"478\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-11-111455.png?w=478&amp;ssl=1 478w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-11-111455.png?resize=300%2C166&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-355829\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: TOI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"40\" data-end=\"131\"><em data-start=\"40\" data-end=\"64\">It <\/em>is a newly identified <strong>species of dragonfly<\/strong> discovered in Kerala.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"346\" data-end=\"453\">The species was first spotted in <strong>2013<\/strong> at <strong data-start=\"387\" data-end=\"450\">Varappetty near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, Kerala<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1129\" data-end=\"1142\"><strong>Habitat<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1145\" data-end=\"1311\">This species inhabits <strong data-start=\"1167\" data-end=\"1239\">vegetated pools, shaded irrigation canals, and seasonal water bodies<\/strong> within agricultural landscapes.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1314\" data-end=\"1514\">Unlike many dragonflies, <em data-start=\"1339\" data-end=\"1354\">L. keralensis<\/em> is <strong data-start=\"1358\" data-end=\"1385\">not a forest specialist<\/strong> and thrives in <strong data-start=\"1401\" data-end=\"1428\">human-modified habitats<\/strong> such as <strong data-start=\"1437\" data-end=\"1473\">pineapple and rubber plantations<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1693\" data-end=\"1711\"><strong>Distribution:<\/strong> <span style=\"font-size: 20px\">Known only from <\/span><strong style=\"font-size: 20px\" data-start=\"1730\" data-end=\"1768\">low-lying coastal plains of Kerala<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px\">, particularly areas near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district.<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2064\" data-end=\"2085\"><strong>Characteristics<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"2176\" data-end=\"2305\"><strong data-start=\"2176\" data-end=\"2198\">Sexual Dimorphism:<\/strong> Males and females differ markedly in colouration and body shape.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2310\" data-end=\"2429\"><strong data-start=\"2310\" data-end=\"2320\">Males:<\/strong> Deep blood-red abdomen with black markings and a <strong data-start=\"2370\" data-end=\"2386\">slender body<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2434\" data-end=\"2552\"><strong data-start=\"2434\" data-end=\"2446\">Females:<\/strong> Slightly <strong data-start=\"2456\" data-end=\"2467\">broader<\/strong> with <strong data-start=\"2473\" data-end=\"2493\">yellow and black<\/strong> colour patterns.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2555\" data-end=\"2748\">The species exhibits unique features including a <strong data-start=\"2604\" data-end=\"2647\">distinctively shaped tail and genitalia<\/strong>, which help differentiate it from closely related species.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2899\" data-end=\"2912\"><strong>Threats<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"2915\" data-end=\"3079\">Most populations exist <strong data-start=\"2938\" data-end=\"2965\">outside protected areas<\/strong> and depend on <strong data-start=\"2980\" data-end=\"3036\">fragile microhabitats within agricultural landscapes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3082\" data-end=\"3282\">Threats include <strong data-start=\"3098\" data-end=\"3118\">land-use changes<\/strong>, <strong data-start=\"3120\" data-end=\"3149\">irrigation canal dredging<\/strong>, and potential <strong data-start=\"3165\" data-end=\"3185\">pesticide runoff<\/strong> that can degrade the shaded wet habitats they rely on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3463\" data-end=\"3489\"><strong>Conservation Status<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"3492\" data-end=\"3609\">As a <strong data-start=\"3497\" data-end=\"3527\">recently described species<\/strong>, <em data-start=\"3529\" data-end=\"3553\">Lyriothemis keralensis<\/em> has <strong data-start=\"3558\" data-end=\"3584\">not yet been evaluated<\/strong> for the IUCN Red List.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;border-style: solid\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%\"><strong>Dragonfly<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About:<\/strong>\u00a0It is an aerial predator insect most commonly found near freshwater habitats throughout most of the world.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Habitat:<\/strong>\u00a0Most species of dragonflies live in the tropics and particularly in the rainforests.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indicator Species: <\/strong>These are premier bioindicators for aquatic health, signaling clean water, high oxygen levels, and biodiversity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: Recently researchers have confirmed the discovery of a new dragonfly species from Kerala\u2019s low-lying coastal plains, named Lyriothemis keralensis\u00a0 commonly called the Slender Bombardier. About Lyriothemis keralensis It is a newly identified species of dragonfly discovered in Kerala. The species was first spotted in 2013 at Varappetty near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, Kerala. Habitat&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/lyriothemis-keralensis\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Lyriothemis Keralensis<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,12056,11834],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-355828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-knolls-daily-factly-articles","category-species-in-news","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355828\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}