Clubtail Dragonflies, Gomphidae, are a group of small-to-medium-sized Dragonflies related to Damselflies which get their name from a widening the end segments of the tail, though this is not found in all species. There are approximately 900 species worldwide, divided into about 90 genera. Members of the genus Phaenandrogomphus are widespread across
much of south and east Asia, from India east to China, and south as far as
Peninsula Malaysia, but have never previously been described from beyond the
Asian mainland.
In a paper published in the
journal Zootaxa on 9 January 2015, Rory Dow of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Sarah Luke of the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge describe a new species of Phaenandrogomphus
from the Kalabakan Forest Reserve in Sabah State, Malaysian Borneo.
The species is described from a
single male specimen found flying over a stream in lowland Diptocarp forest. It
is given the name Phaenandrogomphus safei,
which derives from the acronym of the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems
(SAFE) Project, where the specimen was found. It is essentially black with
yellow and brown markings and blue eyes, though these faded to yellow after
death.
Phaenandrogomphus safei, male
specimen in lateral view. Dow & Luke (2015).
See also…
Damselflies (Zygoptera) are members of the Dragonfly order (Odonta), though generally smaller than...
Plants and Insects are the most abundant organisms in modern terrestrial ecosystems, and generally considered to be the most important. It is thought that Plant-Insect interactions have driven terrestrial...
Dragonflies are one of the oldest groups of insects with a fossil record that dates back to the Carboniferous...
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