New addition to the Odonata fauna of India: Gynacantha basiguttata Selys, 1882 (Odonata: Aeshnidae) from Arunachal Pradesh – a rectification

Authors

  • R. Mahesh National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560065, India.
  • Rajesh Gopinath OIKOS (Eco-Club), BMS Institute of Technology & Management, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560119, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9586-2233
  • Dattaprasad Sawant Grass Jewel Solutions and Shakambharee Clinic, Devgad, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra 416613, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0533-9292
  • Gaurav Joshi Parwati Niwas, Jagat Mangla Colony, Haldwani, District Nainital, Uttarakhand 263139, India.
  • Roshan Upadhaya School of Education, RIMT University Mandi Gobindgarh Punjab 147301, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3683-9943

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10706.18.8.29548-29551

Keywords:

Biodiversity, diagnostic, distribution, dragonfly, morphological, Namdapha National Park, new record, range extension, Spoon-tailed Duskhawker

Abstract

The present study highlights the first record of Gynacantha basiguttata Selys, 1882 from India, and significantly indicates a range extension and extends its known geographical distribution. Also known as the Spoon-tailed Duskhawker, the species was identified by dorsal diagnostic morphological characters and spoon-shaped cerci with on-site photographs taken on 16 October 2024 alongside a road-side vegetation about the Miao-Vijaynagar road on a cloudy day at Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve, in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Based on photographic evidence for same date, Mahesh et al. (2026) also reported the first confirmed sighting (after 110 years) of Gynacantha khasiaca (MacLachlan, 1896), from Arunachal Pradesh with inclusion of 3 photographs. One of the images from it is herein reassigned to Gynacantha basiguttata Selys, 1882, thereby indicating a self-rectification. 

References

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Published

26-08-2026

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 8 (2026)

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Short Communications

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Copyright (c) 2026 R. Mahesh, Rajesh Gopinath, Dattaprasad Sawant, Gaurav Joshi, Roshan Upadhaya

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