Vestalis submontana explained

Vestalis submontana[1] is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is principally found in the Western Ghats of India,[2] [3] with some records further east.

Frederic Charles Fraser described two new subspecies Vestalis gracilis amaena and Vestalis apicalis amaena in 1929[4] and later gave replacement names Vestalis gracilis montana and Vestalis apicalis submontana in 1934. The type specimens were from Nilgiri mountains in Western Ghats of South India.[5] [2]

Matti Hämäläinen[6] studied the type specimens of these taxa and other material preserved in collections of BMNH (London), IRSN (Brussels) and RMNH (Leiden) in 2011. He concluded that there is striking structural and colour differences which indicate that submontana is a distinct species. And its sympatric occurrence with V. apicalis and V. gracilis alone rules out its former subspecies status. So V. a. submontana is now considered as a separate species Vestalis submontana Fraser 1934 and Vestalis gracilis montana Fraser, 1934 a synonym of it.[2]

Description and habitat

It is similar to Vestalis apicalis and Vestalis gracilis; but the face is black and the black apex of wings much restricted, occupying onlyabout 2·5 mm. It is not sharply defined in young males and in females. The body color is dull golden-bronzed metallic green. It is a bit smaller than the other two species.[5] [2] The structure of the male appendages is also different. The inferior appendages are proportionally longer than the other two species.[2] It is found in the upland forest streams in South India.[5] [2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Calopterygoidea of the World . M. Hamalainen. caloptera.com. 2017-02-20.
  2. Notes on the taxonomic status of Vestalis submontana Fraser, 1934 from South India (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170220175851/http://www.caloptera.com/pdf/Hamalainen%202011%20Taxonomic%20status%20of%20Vestalis%20submontana.pdf . 20 February 2017 . M. Hamalainen . Notulae Odonatologicae . 7 . 8 . 69–76 .
  3. 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. 72–73.
  4. Fraser . F. C. . Indian Dragonflies . The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society . 33 . 2–3 . 583–584 . 13 October 2018.
  5. Book: Fraser, F.C. . Frederic Charles Fraser . The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. II. Taylor and Francis. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London. 1934. 128, 130.
  6. Web site: Matti Hämäläinen . . 2017-02-20.