Spoon-tailed duskhawker: Arunachal find fattens India’s dragonfly list
Researchers have confirmed the presence of the spoon-tailed duskhawker dragonfly in Arunachal Pradesh, marking the first verifiable photographic evidence of the species in India. The discovery was made in Namdapha National Park and has led to the species being added to the national Odonata checklist.
Why it matters
This discovery updates India's biodiversity records and highlights the importance of protected areas like Namdapha National Park in preserving rare species.
GUWAHATI The first verifiable photographic evidence of the spoon-tailed duskhawker (Gynacantha basiguttata ) in Arunachal Pradesh has fattened India’s dragonfly list.
A team of five researchers had worked on dragonflies in the 1,985 sq. km Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve. A single male, hanging vertically from vegetation in a densely shaded area on a cloudy day, was photographed in October 2024 on the Miao-Vijaynagar Road inside the tiger reserve and was initially recorded as the Gynacantha khasiaca .
A taxonomical correction, however, revealed that the brown and blue-green dragonfly was the spoon-tailed duskhawker, which was originally described from the Philippines and is found in several parts of Southeast Asia.
Their findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors are Karnataka-based R. Mahesh and Rajesh Gopinath, Maharashtra-based Dattaprasad Sawant, Uttarakhand-based Gaurav Joshi, and Roshan Upadhaya from Arunachal Pradesh.
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