''Trithemis aurora'', the crimson marsh glider, is a species of
dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
in the family
Libellulidae
The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Ev ...
. It is a common and widely distributed species found throughout the year across the
Indian subcontinent and
Southeast Asia.
Description
The male of the species is distinctly different from the female. The male has a reddish-brown face, with eyes that are crimson above and brown on the sides. The
thorax is red with a fine, purple
pruinescence. The abdomen, the base of which is swollen, is crimson with a violet tinge. The wings are transparent with crimson venation and the base has a broad amber patch. The wing spots are a dark reddish-brown and the legs are black.
[
File:Trithemis_aurora_male_2_by_kadavoor.jpg, Male
File:Trithemis aurora by kadavoor.JPG, Female
Crimson marsh glider (Trithemis aurora) female Bardiya.jpg, female
File:Emergence of a Dragonfly.jpg, Emergence
The female has an olivaceous or bright reddish-brown face with eyes that are purplish-brown above and grey below. The thorax is olivaceous with brown median and black lateral stripes. The abdomen is reddish-brown with median and lateral black markings. The black markings are confluent at the end of each segment and enclose a reddish-brown spot. The wings are transparent with brown tips. The venation is bright yellow to brown and basal amber markings are pale. The wing spots are a dark brown and the lags are dark grey with narrow yellow stripes.]
Habitat
It is commonly found in weedy tanks and ponds, marshes, channels, and slow flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills. It breeds in streams, rivers, canals, ponds and tanks.[
]
Photo gallery
File:Crimson marsh glider, male @ Thrippunithura 03.jpg, Male
File:Crimson marsh glider, female @ Thrippunithura 01.jpg, Female
File:Crimson marsh glider, male @ Thrippunithura 02.jpg, Male
See also
* List of odonates of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are approximately 2 million known species of arthropods, and this number continues ...
* List of odonates of India
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* List of odonata of Kerala
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1324208
Trithemis
Insects of Asia
Insects described in 1839
Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister