Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
Recently, A team of odonatologists has discovered a new spreadwing damselfly species, from the Western Ghats of Kerala.
- Scientific Name – Lestes paloti
1st new Lestes species in Western Ghats since 1929; 1st in India since 1987.
- Genus – Lestes (Spreadwing damselflies).
- Nomenclature – Lestes paloti, in honour of Muhamed Jafer Palot, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI
- Morphology – Distinct male anal appendages and secondary genitalia, (similar to Lestes nodalis and Lestes garoensis).
- Seasonal Colour Change – Brown in dry season, bluish in monsoon.
- Distribution – Recorded in Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Ernakulam districts of Kerala.
- Habitat – Scrub vegetation around homesteads, laterite hillocks, often away from open water bodies.
Reference
The Hindu | Lestes paloti
