KOZHIKODE: Two new shadowdamsels have been found in the Western Ghats. They are called shadowdamsels because they are found in well-shaded forest habitats. The shadowdamsels found in Thiruvananthapuram-Aryanad and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra are named as the Crimson Shadowdamsel and the Konkan Shadowdamsel, respectively.

The new species is similar to the Red-spot Shadowdamsel discovered in the Nilgiri Hills by British odonatologist F.C. Fraser. The main colour, the shape of the hind neck, the small tails and the genitals are different. There is also a genetic difference. The shadowdamsels were discovered by a research team comprising Vivek Chandran, Reji Chandran (Society for Odonate Studies, Kerala), Dattaprasad Sawant (Indian Foundation for Butterflies), Pankaj Koparde (MIT World Peace University, Pune), Hemant Ogale (naturalist, Maharashtra), Abhishek Rane (naturalist, Maharashtra), and Krushnamegh Kunte (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru). The study was published in the international journal Zootaxa.

There are many different shadowdamsels in the Western Ghats. More studies and conservation work should be done on these, which are indicators of forest health.

-Dr. Vivek Chandran