Indosticta Explained

Indosticta deccanensis, the saffron reedtail, is a damselfly species in the family Platystictidae. It is endemic to Western Ghats in India.^[1]

This species was previously placed in the genus Platysticta, but recent phylogenetic studies has revealed that the genus Platysticta is actually confined to Sri Lanka. For the South Indian species, formerly known as Platysticta deccanensis, morphological and molecular analyses demonstrated that it does not belong to the Sri Lankan clade and a new genus Indosticta is erected to accommodate it.^[2]

Description and habitat

It is a medium-sized damselfly with bluish-white face and black-capped brown eyes. Its thorax is cinnamon brown with a black mid-dorsal carina. Its wings are transparent with yellowish-red pterostigma framed in black nervures. Abdomen is dark-brown up to segment 7 and segments 8 to 9 are azure blue bordered below with black. Segment 10 is blackish-brown. Anal appendages are black.^{[3] [4]}

Female is similar to the male; but its thorax has a bit dark patches in the dorsum and the sides. There is a narrow ante-humeral pale blue stripe and another similar blue stripe bordering the black area of the mesepimeron. Abdomen is similar to the male; but segment 8 unmarked and segment 9 with a large oval pale blue dorso-lateral spot.^{[3] [4]}

It is known to occur close to Myristica swamps and streams with dense riparian vegetation. Laidlaw described it from the Kingdom of Cochin.^[3] Recent studies have found populations of this species in Kodaku too. Commonly found resting on ferns in dark shady spots in forests.^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

See also

• List of odonates of India
• List of odonata of Kerala

Notes and References

1. Book: K.A. . Subramanian . K.G. . Emiliyamma . R. . Babu . C. . Radhakrishnan . S.S. . Talmale . Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India . 2018 . Zoological Survey of India . 9788181714954. 50–51.
2. Bedjanič M. . etal . Taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of the Platystictidae of Sri Lanka (Insecta: Odonata) . . 4182 . 1. 1–80. 2016. 10.11646/zootaxa.4182.1.1 . 27811665 . 2017-03-13.
3. Laidlaw . F. F. . Notes on Oriental Dragon-Flies in the Indian Museum---Indian Species of the 'Legion' Protoneura . Rec. Indian Mus. . 1915 . 11 . 388 . 24 October 2018.
4. Laidlaw . F. F. . A list of the Dragonflies Recorded from the Indian Empire with Special Reference to the Collection of the Indian Museum---The Family Agrioninae (2) . Rec. Indian Mus. . 1917 . 13 . 340 . 24 October 2018.
5. Book: C FC Lt. Fraser. Frederic Charles Fraser. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. I. Taylor and Francis. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London. 1933. 124–126.
6. Book: C FC Lt. Fraser. Frederic Charles Fraser. 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. Zoological Survey of India. Volumes (Records). 1924. 498–499.
7. Book: Subramanian, K. A.. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India - A Field Guide. 2005.
8. Web site: Platysticta deccanensis Laidlaw, 1915. India Biodiversity Portal. 2017-03-13.
9. Web site: Indosticta deccanensis Laidlaw, 1915. Odonata of India, v. 1.00. Indian Foundation for Butterflies. 2017-03-13.