A new species of Epithemis Laidlaw, 1955 (Odonata: Libellulidae), from the Western Ghats, India

Abstract

The monotypic genus Epithemis Laidlaw, 1955, is endemic to the Western Ghats and is represented by the nominate species Epithemis mariae (Laidlaw, 1915). Epithemis mariae is distributed across the Western Ghats, and as part of an ongoing study, we identified a distinct population from Wayanad. Morphological and molecular data for E. mariae and the population from the Wayanad plateau affirm that the two are distinct taxa and allow us to describe a new species. Epithemis wayanadensis sp. nov. is described based on male specimens collected from Wayanad, a part of the Western Ghats in Kerala state, southern India.