Protosticta gravelyi,[2][3] the pied reedtail[4][3] is a damselfly species in the family Platystictidae. It is endemic to Western Ghats in India. It is very widely distributed in hill streams of Western Ghats from Goa to Agasthyamala hills in Thirunelveli district of South India.[1][5]

Protosticta gravelyi
Male
Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Family: Platystictidae
Genus: Protosticta
Species:
P. gravelyi
Binomial name
Protosticta gravelyi
Laidlaw, 1915
Synonyms
  • Protosticta stevensi Fraser, 1922

Description and habitat edit

It is a large slender damselfly with bottle-green eyes. Its thorax is glossy black, marked with a broad, creamy-white stripe on each side. There is a similar stripe on the posterior part of metepimeron. Abdomen is black, marked with white and blue. Segments 1 and 2 are white laterally. Segment 3 is with a narrow basal annule. Segments 4 to 7 are with broad basal annules. Segment 8 is with its basal half turquoise-blue and segments 9 and 10 are unmarked. Anal appendages are black. Female is very similar to the male, but shorter and more robustly built.[6]

It is usually found in first and second order streams with good riparian forest cover. Adults fly very low and rest in riparian vegetation.[6][7][8][4][3]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Subramanian, K.A. (2011). "Protosticta gravelyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T175162A7115762. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T175162A7115762.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. (2023). "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral, University of Alabama. Retrieved 14 Mar 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Protosticta gravelyi Laidlaw, 1915". Odonata of India, v. 1.00. Indian Foundation for Butterflies. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  4. ^ a b "Protosticta gravelyi Laidlaw, 1915". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  5. ^ K.A., Subramanian; K.G., Emiliyamma; R., Babu; C., Radhakrishnan; S.S., Talmale (2018). Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India. Zoological Survey of India. pp. 55–56. ISBN 9788181714954.
  6. ^ a b C FC Lt. Fraser (1933). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. I. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 103-105.
  7. ^ C FC Lt. Fraser (1924). A Survey of the Odonate (Dragonfly) Fauna of Western India with Special Remarks on the Genera Macromia and Idionyx and Descriptions of Thirty New Species (PDF). Zoological Survey of India. Volumes (Records). p. 499.
  8. ^ Subramanian, K. A. (2005). Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India - A Field Guide.

External links edit

  Data related to Protosticta gravelyi at Wikispecies

  Media related to Protosticta gravelyi at Wikimedia Commons