The First Record of Anax parthenope (Selys, 1839) (Odonata: Aeshnidae) from the Outskirts of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India
DOI:
10.29303/jpm.v21i2.11570Published:
2026-03-16Downloads
Abstract
Odonates are widely recognized as effective bioindicators of freshwater ecosystem health, yet their diversity and distribution remain inadequately documented in several parts of eastern India. Anax parthenope (Selys, 1839) (Odonata: Aeshnidae), a broadly distributed species across Asia, Europe, and Africa, has limited confirmed records from this region. The present study aims to document the first confirmed occurrence of A. parthenope from the outskirts of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. An adult male was opportunistically observed and photographed near a semi-permanent freshwater body at Kudada village (22.7076° N, 86.2033° E) in October 2020. Species identification was achieved through comparative morphological analysis using standard taxonomic keys, focusing on diagnostic characters of the thorax, abdomen, and anal appendages. This record represents a new locality for the species in Jharkhand and extends its known distribution within eastern India. The finding underscores the ecological value of peri-urban wetlands as habitats for odonates and highlights the need for systematic, long-term surveys to improve baseline data on odonate diversity and support freshwater biodiversity conservation in the region.
Keywords:
Anax parthenope; Distribution Extension; Dragonfly Diversity; New Locality Record; Peri-Urban WetlandsReferences
M. Kt, A. Jaleel, M. B. Vijaya, M. K. Anangh, V. J. Joseph, P. P. Raghunathan, et al., “Dragonflies and damselflies: A comprehensive review on their role as heavy metal bioindicators in aquatic ecosystems,” Environmental Ecology Research, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 10–13189, 2024, doi: 10.13189/eer.2024.120407.
F. H. Datto-Liberato, V. M. Lopez, T. Quinaia, R. F. do Valle Junior, M. J. Samways, L. Juen, et al., “Total environment sentinels: Dragonflies as ambivalent/amphibiotic bioindicators of damage to soil and freshwater,” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 934, p. 173110, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173110.
P. Malireddi, M. Jarpla, D. P. Rajesh, H. L. Bandhavi, and H. R. Desai, “Safeguarding insects as bio-indicators of environmental changes and pollution: A review,” Plant Archives, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 1018–1032, 2025, doi: 10.51470/PLANTARCHIVES.2025.v25.supplement-1.138.
V. J. Kalkman, J. P. Boudot, R. Futahashi, J. C. Abbott, C. A. Bota-Sierra, R. Guralnick, et al., “Diversity of Palaearctic dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata),” Diversity, vol. 14, no. 11, p. 966, 2022, doi: 10.3390/d14110966.
D. Paulson and M. Schorr, “World Odonata list,” 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/slater-museum/biodiversity-resources/dragonflies/world-odonata-list. [Accessed: May 2021].
V. J. Kalkman, R. Babu, M. Bedjanič, K. Conniff, T. Gyeltshen, M. K. Khan, and A. G. Orr, “Checklist of the dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” Zootaxa, vol. 4849, no. 1, pp. 1–84, 2020, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4849.1.1.
R. Goswami, D. Rawat, and C. S. Negi, “Indian Odonata: Diversity, ecology, and conservation challenges,” Indian Journal of Ecology, vol. 52, no. 5, pp. 1023–1030, 2025, doi: 10.55362/IJE/2025/4610.
P. Koparde, P. Mhaske, and A. Patwardhan, “Habitat correlates of Odonata species diversity in the northern Western Ghats, India,” Odonatologica, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 21–43, 2015.
R. A. Clement, N. A. Saxton, S. Standring, P. R. Arnold, K. K. Johnson, D. R. Bybee, and S. M. Bybee, “Phylogeny, migration and geographic range size evolution of Anax dragonflies (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae),” Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 194, no. 3, pp. 858–878, 2022, doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab046.
S. K. Sajan, J. R. Patel, M. K. Bakshi, A. K. Singh, S. E. H. Kazmi, A. K. Mishra, and P. Anand, “Diversity and abundance of Odonata in Palamau Tiger Reserve, Jharkhand, India,” Advances in Applied Science Research, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 126–131, 2014.
S. Keshari, “Survey of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata: Insecta) in Khunti, Ranchi, Jharkhand,” Journal of Experimental Zoology India, vol. 27, no. 1, 2024, doi: 10.51470/jez.2024.27.1.1467.
R. Raj, M. Kumar, P. Bharti, A. Sonal, A. Tigga, and R. Ranjan, “Ecosystem services provided by dragonflies (Odonata): Specific context—Jharkhand; broader perspectives—India and global,” 2026. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18125864.
F. C. Fraser, The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Odonata, vol. I. London, U.K.: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1933.
F. C. Fraser, “The Gomphinae of Ceylon (Order Odonata),” Ceylon Journal of Science (B), vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 19–36, 1933.
F. C. Fraser, The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Odonata, vol. II. London, U.K.: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1934.
F. C. Fraser, The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Odonata, vol. III. London, U.K.: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1936.
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Raja Ghosh, Md Abu Imran Mallick, Shaba Alam Ansari
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The following terms apply to authors who publish in this journal:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal first publication rights, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License (CC-BY License) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and first publication in this journal.
2. Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., posting it to an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), acknowledging its initial publication in this journal.
3. Before and during the submission process, authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website), as this can lead to productive exchanges as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
How to Cite
