Biology:Blue riverdamsel

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Short description: Species of damselfly
For the damselfly found in Australia, Papua and New Guinea, see Biology:Pseudagrion crenatum.
Blue riverdamsel

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Male
Female
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Family: Coenagrionidae
Genus: Pseudagrion
Species:
P. microcephalum
Binomial name
Pseudagrion microcephalum
(Rambur, 1842)[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Agrion microcephalum Rambur, 1842

The blue riverdamsel, Pseudagrion microcephalum[1] is a common species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.[3] It is also known as the blue sprite[4] and blue grass dart.[5]

Taxonomic history

For many years, Pseudagrion microcephalum was considered to be a widespread species occurring across southern and eastern Asia, Australasia and the Pacific.[6]

In 2026, Malte Seehausen and Milen Marinov reviewed the Pseudagrion microcephalum species complex and restricted Pseudagrion microcephalum to populations from the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka.[6]

As part of this revision, Australian, Papuan and Pacific populations previously identified as Pseudagrion microcephalum were reassigned to several distinct species, including Pseudagrion crenatum in Australia and New Guinea. Other populations from Southeast Asia and the western Pacific were also reassigned to newly recognised regional species.[6]

Distribution

This species can be found in India and Sri Lanka.[7][6]

Description

It is a medium-sized damselfly with pale blue eyes, dark on top. They grow to 38mm in length. Its thorax is azure blue with black, broad dorsal stripes and narrow humeral stripes. Abdominal segments 1 and 2 are blue with black marks on the dorsum. Mark on segment 2 looks like a chalice or thistle-head. Segments 3 to 7 are black on dorsum and blue on the sides. Segments 8 and 9 are blue; 8 with a thick and 9 with a thin black apical annules. Segment 10 is black on dorsum and blue on the sides. Superior anal appendages are of the same length of segment 10; black and divided at the apices.[8]

Eyes and thorax of the female is bluish green, suffused with orange, marked as in the male; but black is replaced by orange. Color of the abdomen is similar to the male; but paler. Segments 8 and 9 are also black with fine apical blue rings. Segment 10 is pale blue.[8]

  • Male
    Male
  • Young male
    Young male
  • Female
    Female
  • Tandem pair
    Tandem pair
  • Mating pair
    Mating pair

Habitat

This species can easily be found near running water or still water. They usually rest on the plants either in the middle of ponds or at the water edges. It breeds in ponds, lakes and streams. It is entirely a species of the plains, being replaced by Pseudagrion malabaricum in the neighboring hills of Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka, and by Pseudagrion australasiae to the north-east of India and Burma.[8][9][10]

Etymology

The genus name Pseudagrion is derived from the Greek ψευδής (pseudēs, "false" or "not true"), combined with Agrion, a genus name derived from the Greek ἄγριος (agrios, "wild"). Agrion was the name given in 1775 by Johan Christian Fabricius for all damselflies.[11]

The species name microcephalum is derived from the Greek μικρός (mikros, "small") and κεφαλή (kephalē, "head"), referring to its relatively small head compared with other species.[2][11]

See also

  • List of odonates of India
  • List of odonata of Kerala

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dow, R.A.; Wilson, K.D.P. (2017). "Pseudagrion microcephalum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T167199A83376119.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/167199/83376119. Retrieved 20 November 2021. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rambur, Jules (1842) (in fr). Histoire naturelle des insectes. Névroptères. Paris: Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret. pp. 534 [259]. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k61025298/f281.image. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "World Odonata List". University of Puget Sound. https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/slater-museum/biodiversity-resources/dragonflies/world-odonata-list2/. 
  4. ↑ "Pseudagrion microcephalum Rambur, 1842". India Biodiversity Portal. https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/228180. 
  5. ↑ "Pseudagrion microcephalum Rambur, 1842 - Blue Sprite". Odonata of India. https://www.indianodonata.org/pseudagrion-microcephalum. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Seehausen, M.; Marinov, M. (2026). "Pseudagrion microcephalum (Rambur, 1842)—sifting through a putative familiar species, with erection of two new species (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)". Zootaxa 5810 (1): 1–48. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5810.1.1. 
  7. ↑ K.A., Subramanian; K.G., Emiliyamma; R., Babu; C., Radhakrishnan; S.S., Talmale (2018). Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India. Zoological Survey of India. pp. 177–178. ISBN 978-81-8171-495-4. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 C FC Lt. Fraser (1933). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. I. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 278–290. https://archive.org/details/FraserOdonata1. 
  9. ↑ Fraser, F.C. (1924). "A Survey of the Odonate (Dragonfly) Fauna of Western India with Special Remarks on the Genera Macromia and Idionyx and Descriptions of Thirty New Species". Records of the Zoological Survey of India 26 (5). doi:10.26515/rzsi/v26/i5/1924/162660. https://recordsofzsi.com/index.php/zsoi/article/view/162660. 
  10. ↑ Subramanian, K. A. (2005). Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India - A Field Guide. https://www.ias.ac.in/Publications/Overview/Dragonflies. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283318421_The_Naming_of_Australia's_Dragonflies. 

Wikidata ☰ Q2845480 entry



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