Observations of Odonata (Insecta) from heterogeneous habitat patches in Bankura district with the first report of Microgomphus torquatus (Selys, 1854) from West Bengal, India

Roy, Subhajit; Singhamahapatra, Aniruddha; Nayak, Amar Kumar

doi:10.52547/JAD.2022.4.2.8

Observations of Odonata (Insecta) from heterogeneous habitat patches in Bankura district with the first report of Microgomphus torquatus (Selys, 1854) from West Bengal, India

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Subhajit Roy ¹

Aniruddha Singhamahapatra ²

Amar Kumar Nayak ³

¹ Department of Information Technology, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, Haringhata, Nadia 741249, India; Durgapur Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society, Durgapur, Paschim Bardhaman 713206, India

² Kadma, Bankura, West Bengal 722151, India

³ Searsole Junior Basic School, Raniganj Circle, Searsole Rajbari, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal 713358, India

10.52547/JAD.2022.4.2.8

Abstract

The diversity and heterogeneity of Odonata was studied at 10 sites located across almost all parts of the Bankura district (except northwestern and northeastern boundary regions), in the state of West Bengal, India from July 2015 to June 2022. Analysis of variance and rarefaction was performed to study the β-diversity and compare the taxa abundance at the sites to understand the heterogeneity of Odonata observations. The seasonality of the species and their site-wise distribution were also studied. A total of 74 odonate species belonging to eight families, represented by 46 genera were recorded. The study adds 17 species to the known Odonata fauna of Bankura district, including the addition of Microgomphus torquatus (Selys) to the fauna of West Bengal. It also confirms the addition of Ictinogomphus kishori to the known Odonata fauna of West Bengal, which has been confused with and misidentified as Ictinogomphus distinctus for long, the latter being described from the state of West Bengal and is also found in the region adjacent to the study area. Most recorded odonates belonged to the family Libellulidae (29 species), followed by Coenagrionidae (19 species), Gomphidae (nine species), Platycnenididae (six species), Aeshnidae (five species), Macromiidae (three species), Lestidae (two species), and Chlorocyphidae (one species). Species diversity and abundance assessments are essential for conserving the habitats of the restricted and endemic (to peninsular India) species.

Keywords

Diversity

damselfly

dragonfly

Ictinogomphus

Microgomphus

new record

Peninsular India