3 conservationists have “rediscovered” the demoiselle species “Lestes Patricia” (Representational)
Satara:
Three environmentalists from Satara in Maharashtra claimed to have “rediscovered” a species of “almost extinct” “Lestes Patricia” damselfly after almost 100 years.
A colony of this subspecies, called “Lestes patricia taamrpatti”, was discovered by Dr Shriram Bhakare, Sunil Bhoite and Pratima Pawar-Bhoite from the Umrodi dam region, located at the foot of the Western Ghats in the north of the district .
According to researchers, a single male specimen of Lestes patricia, endemic to the Western Ghats, was first discovered in 1922 in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka and the only specimen currently available is found in the Natural History Museum in London. .
“The colony discovered of new species closely corresponds to the specimen of the only known male of Lestes patricia from the London museum. However, there are stable differences between the newly found species and the description of Lestes patricia,” said Mr Bhoite.
“By comparing the body structure and characteristics of the newly found species with an existing specimen of Lestes patricia from the London Museum, stable differences were found. Therefore the subspecies of the damselfly family was named Lestes patricia taamrpatti, “he added.
Dr. Bhakare, an ophthalmologist from Satara, said that the reason behind the addition of the word “taamrpatti” was because the species has a uniform copper-red-brown band bordered with black.
“The probability that the newly discovered population is, in fact, a separate species cannot be excluded, but cannot be confirmed until new specimens of Lestes patricia are made available in the locality of Kodagu.
“Since the stable characteristics observed in the newly discovered population prevent it from being incontestably placed under Lestes patricia, but given the lack of comparative material, it is not possible to place it with certainty as a new species “, he added.
Thus, the newly discovered population of Maharashtra is tentatively placed as a subspecies of Lestes patricia, informed Dr. Bhakare.
He said that a research paper on the discovery of the nearly extinct species had recently been published in the Bionotes Journal.
The researchers said that 10 specimens, including six males and four females, had been collected for examination.
Of the 10, two male and two female specimens have been deposited with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), while the rest will be kept in other depositories across the country for further research.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
