A new species of Lestes Leach, 1815 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Lestidae) from the Western Ghats of Keralam, southern India

Abstract

A new species of damselfly, Lestes paloti sp. n. (Odonata: Lestidae) is described from Keralam on the western slopes of the Western Ghats, southern India. Although superficially resembling L. garoensis Lahiri, 1987 and L. nodalis Selys, 1891, the new taxon can be readily distinguished by the structure of the male anal appendages, particularly the form of the inner inflations of the cerci bearing a sharply pointed spine, and by the morphology of the secondary genitalia. This study also clarifies that previous records of L. nodalis from southern India were based on misidentifications of this new species. Notes on habitat, distribution, and ontogenetic and seasonal color variations are provided. A preliminary classification of species-groups within Lestes of Western Ghats is proposed, along with a diagnostic key to closely related species.

Keywords. Endemic, laterite hillocks, species-groups, Spreadwings, taxonomy

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D199A8D7-AAE0-4BF4-BC77-BCCDF419612C

Issue section: Original Article

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A new species of Lestes Leach, 1815 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Lestidae) from the Western Ghats of Keralam, southern India

Vol. 29
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