''Vestalis submontana'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies (which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Epiprocta) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the win ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Calopterygidae Calopterygidae is a Family (biology), family of damselfly, damselflies, in the suborder Zygoptera. They are commonly known as the broad-winged damselflies, demoiselles, or jewelwings. These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 50–80 ...

. It is principally found in the Western Ghats of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, with some records further east.

Frederic Charles Fraser Frederic Charles Fraser (15 February 1880, in Woolwich – 2 March 1963, in Linwood) was an England, English entomologist who specialised in Odonata. Following army service in India as a surgeon with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel (United Ki ...

described two new subspecies ''Vestalis gracilis amaena'' and ''Vestalis apicalis amaena'' in 1929 and later gave replacement names ''Vestalis gracilis montana'' and ''Vestalis apicalis submontana'' in 1934. The type specimens were from Nilgiri mountains in Western Ghats of

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. Matti Hämäläinen studied the type specimens of these taxa and other material preserved in collections of BMNH (London), IRSN (Brussels) and RMNH (Leiden) in 2011. He concluded that there is striking structural and colour differences which indicate that ''submontana'' is a distinct species. And its sympatric occurrence with ''V. apicalis'' and ''V. gracilis'' alone rules out its former subspecies status. So ''V. a. submontana'' is now considered as a separate species ''Vestalis submontana'' Fraser 1934 and ''Vestalis gracilis montana'' Fraser, 1934 a synonym of it.

Description and habitat

It is similar to ''

Vestalis apicalis ''Vestalis apicalis'', or the black-tipped forest glory, is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is found in India and Sri Lanka. Subspecies ''V. apicalis apicalis'' is commonly found in the hill streams of Western ...

'' and ''

Vestalis gracilis ''Vestalis gracilis'', is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is known commonly as the clear-winged forest glory or clear-winged flash-wing. It is native to Southeast Asia and surrounding regions. Description The ...

''; but the face is black and the black apex of wings much restricted, occupying only about 2·5 mm. It is not sharply defined in young males and in females. The body color is dull golden-bronzed metallic green. It is a bit smaller than the other two species. The structure of the male appendages is also different. The inferior appendages are proportionally longer than the other two species. File:Vestalis submontana -adult male.jpg, Male (sub-adult) File:Vestalis submontana - male side view.jpg, Caudal appendages of male (lateral view) File:Vestalis submontana Male.jpg, Caudal appendages of male (ventral view) It is found in the

upland Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

forest streams in

References

External links

Calopterygidae Odonata of Asia Insects of India Endemic fauna of India Insects described in 1934 Taxa named by Frederic Charles Fraser {{Calopterygoidea-stub

Description and habitat

See also

References

External links