ON A COLLECTION OF DRAGONFLIES (ODONATA : ANISOPTERA) FROM ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS

The study of Odonata fauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands dates back to nineteenth century, with the description of a new species of damselfly Libellago lineata blanda by Selys (1853), from Great Nicobar Island. Afterwards many species have been recorded by Selys (1863, 1871, 1877). Fraser (1924) provided the first Odonata list of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and added 9 species to the fauna of this region, which were included in Fauna of British India (1933, 1934, 1936). Lahiri (1975) reported 31 species of Odonates from South Andaman with 15 Zygoptera and 16 Anisoptera but no species list was provided in that paper. Chhotani et al. (1983) provided the consolidated list of 34 species from Andaman and Nicobar Islands with 19 species of Anisoptera which included two new species, viz. Gomphidia ganeshi and Oligoaeschna andamani. Their work was based on the collections from various surveys during 1928 to 1969 made by Col. R.B.S. Sewell, B.S. Lamba, A. Daniel & H.K. Bhowmik and T.D. Soota, covering different areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Later Lahiri and Mitra (1993) added 8 species to this Island fauna, which includes 6 species of Anisoptera. Mitra (1995) recorded 3 species of Zygoptera and 8 species of Anisoptera new to Great Nicobar Island, of which 4 species of Anisoptera were also new record to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Lahiri (1998) reported eleven Odonate species as new record from Little Andaman Island of which 7 species are Anisoptera. Previously all these species were reported from South Andaman only.


INTRODUCTION
The study of Odonata fauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands dates back to nineteenth century, with the description of a new species of damselfly Libellago lineata blanda by Selys (1853), from Great Nicobar Island.Afterwards many species have been recorded by Selys (1863Selys ( , 1871Selys ( , 1877)).Fraser (1924) provided the first Odonata list of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and added 9 species to the fauna of this region, which were included in Fauna of British India (1933,1934,1936).Lahiri (1975) reported 31 species of Odonates from South Andaman with 15 Zygoptera and 16 Anisoptera but no species list was provided in that paper.Chhotani et al. (1983) provided the consolidated list of 34 species from Andaman and Nicobar Islands with 19 species of Anisoptera which included two new species, viz.Gomphidia ganeshi and Oligoaeschna andamani.Their work was based on the collections from various surveys during 1928 to 1969 made by Col. R.B.S. Sewell, B.S. Lamba, A. Daniel & H.K. Bhowmik and T.D. Soota, covering different areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Later Lahiri and Mitra (1993) added 8 species to this Island fauna, which includes 6 species of Anisoptera.Mitra (1995) recorded 3 species of Zygoptera and 8 species of Anisoptera new to Great Nicobar Island, of which 4 species of Anisoptera were also new record to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Lahiri (1998) reported eleven Odonate species as new record from Little Andaman Island of which 7 species are Anisoptera.Previously all these species were reported from South Andaman only.
Hi:imiili:iinen et al. (1999) recorded 9 species newly from Andaman and Nicobar Islands which includes 7 species of Anisoptera.Among these, Neurothemis ramburii ramburii (Brauer) and Zyxomma obtusum Albarda were recorded as new to India.Ram et al. (2000) studied Odonate fauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands based on the surveys conducted by the scientists of Andaman and Nicobar Regional Station, ZSI, Port Blair.They reported 7 species of Anisoptera as new to fauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Ram et al. (2000) reported Cratilla metallica (Brauer) as first record from India, but it was previously recorded by Fraser (1936) from Hasimara, Duars, Bengal, which is distinctly within Indian Territory.Yeh and Veenakumari (2000) described new species, Gynacantha andamanae from South Andaman Island.Mitra (2002a) discussed on the zoogeography of Odonates of Nicobar Islands and provided the list of known Odonates from that Nicobar Island group.
The present study is based on the collection of Odonata specimens made by the scientists of Zoological Survey of India from Andaman and Nicobar Islands during 1970-1988and 2000 present in the National Zoological Collections, ZSI, Kolkata.The nomenclature followed here is after Fraser (1934 & 1936), Prasad & Varshney (1995) and Mitra (2002b).From this study, Neurothemis intermedia atlanta Ris and Tramea basilaris burmeisteri Kirby are reported for the first time from Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The consolidated list of 44 species/ subspecies of suborder Anisoptera along with their distribution within Andaman and Nicobar Islands is given in the  Brauer, Verh. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien., 15 : 978. 1936. Agrionoptera insignis insignis, Fraser, Fauna Brit. India, Odonata, 3 : 274-276. 1995. Agrionoptera insignis, Prasad & Varshney, Oriental insects, 29 : 408.Diagnostic character : Male : Frons creamy yellow at sides, brilliant metallic blue above and over greater part of anterior surface.Prothorax black, anterior lobe and borders of posterior lobe yellow.Thorax bronzed or metallic black, marked with greenish yellow.Legs black.Wings hyaline, with amber yellow streaks in the subcostal and cubital spaces not extending as far as the first antenodal nervure.Abdomen black marked with blood red.Anal appendages black.
Wings hyaline, bases of all marked with rich amber-yellow, apices of wings lined narrowly with pale brown.Pterostigma dark ochreous between blackish nervures.Female: Labium pale yellow; Labrum, frons, face and vesicle olivaceous yellow ; Prothorax and thorax olivaceous brown, legs ochreous.Wings similar to male but basal markings paler in tint and the neuration in this part bright yellow instead of bright orange.
Remark : This species is recorded for the first time from Middle Andaman.
Diagnostic character : Male : Labium, labrum and bases of mandible creamy yellow; face, frons and vesicle palest azure blue.Prothorax pale brown to black, a mid dorsal stripe on dorsum.Thorax greenish yellow/olivaceous, sutures finely black; whole thorax pruinosed in old adults.
Remark: This species is recorded for the first time from Middle Andaman and Little Andaman.
Diagnostic character: Male: Pro thorax blackish-brown, thorax dark coppery brown on dorsum, bright yellow laterally; Abdomen segments 1 and 2 with a broad lateral stripe and a fine middorsal, all sutures on these two segments finely black; segments 3-8 bright crimson red with sutures black; segments 9 and 10 black.Legs dark reddish brown to black.Wings hyaline with apices usually enfumed, sometimes dark reddish brown to proximal end of pterostigma.Female : Resembles the male closely but colour of abdomen is rich olivaceous-brown.Apices of wings tipped with brown to distal end of pterostigma only.Vulvar scale and ninth ventral plate projecting beyond end of abdomen and coated with golden hairs.Elsewhere: China, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.

Material examined:
Remark: This species is recorded for the first time from Middle Andaman.

Neurothemis fulvia,
Diagnostic character: Male: Prothorax, thorax and abdomen reddish-brown, sutures and borders of latter finely black.Legs and anal appendages dark ferruginous.Wings opaque, dark reddish brown from base to about middle of pterostigma, apex of wings also opaque brown enclosing a clear window in each wing at apex.Female : Many forms of females are found, varying from complete isochrome (having tips of fore wings completely clear and that of hind wings bordered with amber yellow but not opaque brown) to several types of heterochromes : having the ground colour of head, thorax and body generally much paler or ochreous.Wings clear amber-yellow, with a dark ray in subcostal and costal areas near the node and form a nodal spot.
Remark : This species is recorded for the first time from Little Andaman.Ris, Cat. ColI. Selys, fasc. 16 : 1168. 1924. Neurothemis intermedia atlanta, Fraser, Ind. Mus., 26 : 438 1936. Neurothemis intermedia atlanta, Fraser, Fauna Brit. India, Odonata, 3 : 358-359.Diagnostic character : Male : Labrum, frons and whole of face brightly tinted with crimson; dorsum of thorax uniform olivaceous to dark reddish-brown without humeral stripe.Abdomen with broad ventro lateral stripe, continuous along whole length of abdomen, segment 8 and 9 with middorsal carina blackish and 9 entirely black except ventral border.Wings hyaline with intense golden amber basal marking to as far distal as outer border of discoidal cell, costal border of wing not tinted with yellow.Anal appendages reddish.
Remark: This species is recorded for the first time from Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the present study.
Diagnostic character: Female: Pro thorax reddish brown, thorax pale greenish yellow, dorsum tinged with ferruginous and with a distinct humeral reddish-brown stripe.Wings uniformly tinted with pale yellow, this diffusely deepened along costal area.Abdomen bright reddish-brown/ochreous with sharply defined ventro-Iateral brownish stripe interrupted at apical end of segments 3 to 8, some small dark points at base of segment 10. Anal appendages reddish.
Diagnostic character: Male : Labium, labrum and face yellowish or pale brown; Frons bright scarlet; Thorax dark ferruginous and abdomen bright blood-red.Wings with the basal marking only extending to the first antenodal nervure and not beyond the border of the membrane; pterostigma dark reddish brown.
Diagnostic character: Male: Labium, labrum and face ochreous to pale reddish brown; frons dark brown to blue-black anteriorly.Prothorax and thorax reddish brown to dull purple according to the amount of pruinescence present.Wings hyaline, enfumed pale brown towards apices with a reddish brown basal marking extending distalwards in hind wing; pterostigma reddish brown to black, covering 2 cells. 2 rows of cells between 1Riii and R spl .Abdomen vermillion red to purplishred due to pruinescence.Anal appendages red.
Diagnostic character: Male: Large species; Eyes reddish brown above.Pro thorax rich ochreous with transverse belt of dark reddish brown between anterior and middle lobes.Thorax olivaceous or ferruginous coated thickly with yellowish downy hair.Wings hyaline, with base of hind-wing pale golden yellow up to anal loop and with a narrow apical brown spot limited to posterior border of wing; pterostigma bright ochreous; membrane white.Abdomen bright ochreous, dorsum tinted with bright brick red, sides of segments 1 to 4 pale yellow.Anal appendages ochreous.Female : Very similar to male except eyes olivaceous brown, wings evenly and deeply enfumed and always without apical brown spot, abdomen not constricted at segment 3, stouter and more robust.
Diagnostic character: Female: Face and frons bright chrome yellow; labrum reddish brown, less broadly black.Prothorax yellowish; thorax olivaceous, bluish-green laterally with black markings, humeral suture finely black, lateral stripes expanded in their upper parts to form elongate spots.Abdomen olivaceous green with black markings-apical annules or rings on segments 4-7; segment 8 black with triangular yellow basal spot on each side; 9 and 10 black with medial lateral spot.Anal appendages as long as last three segments of abdomen.Wings tinted with yellow, deepening in tint to nearly as far as level of pterostigma; two large black spots within golden yellow areola at baso-anal area of hind wing, two portions of the black area are separated.Distribution: India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands (South Andaman), Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Rajasthan, South India, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Remark: This species is recorded for the first time from Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the present study.