Dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Karimganj District, Assam, India with four additions to the Indian checklist

Abstract

ABSTRACT Situated at the intersection of the Himalayan and Indo-Chinese biodiversity hotspots, Northeast India is one of the most biodiversity rich areas of South Asia. Despite this, insects such as dragonflies and damselflies (Order: Odonata) of this region remain poorly studied causing an impediment to their conservation assessments. We conducted long-term surveys to study odonate diversity of the Karimganj District, Assam, India bordering the states of Tripura and Mizoram, and the country of Bangladesh. Here, we publish reports of eight species: four new to India Ceriagrion calamineum, Nannophyopsis clara, Phyllothemis eltoni, and Zyxomma breviventre, and four noteworthy species newly recorded from the state: Megalogomphus smithii, Orientogomphus indicus, Pseudothemis zonata, and Sarasaeschna khasiana. We recorded total 97 odonate species during our surveys. We provide the checklist of Odonata of Assam based on our surveys and literature.