International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 8, August 2016

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ISSN 2250-3153

Diversity of Odonata in and around the Vivekananda

Kendra Vidyalaya (NEC), Baragolai, Margherita,
Tinsukia district of Assam (India)
Sailendra Mohan Das
Department of Biology, Guru Teg Bahadur Academy, Tinsukia, Assam, India

Abstract- A total of 39 species of Odonates, including

28 species of dragonflies(sub-order: Anisoptera) belong to 3
families and 11 species of damselflies(sub-order: Zygoptera)
belonging to 3 families were recorded in and around the
Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (NEC) Baragolai, Margherita,
Tinsukia district of Assam(India) between March, 2015 to June,
2016. From the sub-order Anisoptera, Libellulidae was the
richest family with 25 species and from the sub-order Zygoptera,
Coenagrionidae is the richest family with 9 species. A detail list
of odonates recorded from the study area is presented.
Index Terms- Odonata,VKV, Margherita, Tinsukia District.

I. INTRODUCTION

he order Odonata is one of the ancient groups of insect.

These magnificent insects have been around from the
Carboniferous era, about 250 million years ago. Odonates have
amphibious life history. They are primarily aquatic in their preadult stages, while the adults are aerial. The order Odonata is
divided into three groups, viz. Zygoptera (damselflies),
Anisozygoptera and Anisoptera (dragonflies) [1]. The
Anisozygoptera with four relict species was earlier recognized as
a third sub-order of Odonata. However, recent studies on
molecular phylogeny of Odonata groups Anisozygoptera with
Anisoptera[2]. Dragonflies and damselflies are the prominent and
colourfull insects in tropical landscape which are considered as a
crucial component of freshwater ecosystem as well as good
indicators of ecosystem health [3]. They are also bio-control
agents, many species of odonates inhabiting in agro-ecosystems
play a crucial role of controlling pest populations [4]. Globally,
about 6,000 species and sub-species of Odonata belonging to 677
genera have been documented [5], of which 474 species in 142
genera and 18 families are known from India [6]. The Odonates
fauna of India is well studied since late eighteen century. During
pre- independence, scientist such as Selys- Longchamps, Laidlaw
and Fraser has contributed significantly to the knowledge of
Indian Odonata[7]. The Odonate fauna of Assam is not well
documented, although a number of studies are in record from
North Eastern India [8-12]. Some of the recent studies [13-18] have
provided sporadic information regarding the distribution of
odonates in different parts of Assam. The aim of the present
investigation was to carry out a preliminary study on the
diversity of Odonata in and around Vivekananda Kendra
Vidyalaya (NEC) Baragolai campus of Margherita sub-division
of Tinsukia district. To the best knowledge of the author, no

diversity based study on Odonates was carried out in the

Tinsukia District of Upper Assam (India). Thus, it will provide
relevant information about odonates, which would come out
helpful for further studies as well as conservation of the odonate
species.

II. MATERIAL AND METHODS

The present study was carried out in and around the
Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya(NEC), Baragolai situated at the
Coal Queen Margherita of Tinsukia district of Upper Assam,
India. This school is a project of North Eastern Coalfields (NEC),
Coal India Limited and managed by Vivekananda Kendra,
Kanyakumari. The study area is located at 271706 North
Latitude and 954247 East Longitude in the foot hills of Patkai
Mountain Range at the elevation of 129 meter from the mean sea
level. The area is surrounded by small villages, abandon paddy
fields and temporary wetlands which are developed during rainy
season. The climate of the region is tropical monsoon type. The
summer season is from March to May, followed by rainy season
from June to September and cool winter from October to
February. Visual encounter surveys of adult odonates were
carried out from the month of March 2015 to June 2016
randomly in morning 9 am to 12 noon and afternoon from 4pm to
7pm with fine weather conditions. The odonate species were
categorized on the basis of their abundance in the study area; VC
very common (> 100 sightings), C common (50 100
sightings), O occasional (16 - 49), R rare (3 15 sightings)
and VR very rare (< 3 sightings). Most of the odonates were
photographed with Fujiflim Finepix digital still camera.
Identification was carried out with the help of standard literatures
[19-21]
. Systematic arrangement and the taxonomy followed in the
checklist are after Subramonian [6].

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Over the entire duration of the present study, a total of 39
species of odonates was recorded in and around the Vivekananda
Kendra Vidyalaya (NEC), Baragolai of Margherita sub-division
of Tinsukia district of Assam, India. The sub-order Anisoptera
consists of 28 species belonging to 20 genus and 3 families.
From this sub-order, family Libellulidae is dominant by 25
species followed by Aeshnidae with 2 species and Gomphidae
with 1 species. The sub-order Zygoptera consists of 11 species
belonging to 6 genus and 3 families. Under this sub-order, family
Coenagrionidae is dominant by 9 species followed by
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Calopterygidae and Lestidae with 1 species each. The relative

abundance analysis show that 10 species out of 39 were found to
be very common, 7 were common, 8 were occasional, 9 rare and
5 were very rare. Out of these 10 very common dragonfly species
Brachythemis contaminata is of special interest; because it is an
indicator species of highly polluted water, which is not suitable
for human consumption. In contrast, Ictinogomphus rapax which
is usually preferred unpolluted water was very rarely seen during
the study period. Presence or absence of certain groups of
species can be looked as a proxy for habitat variables or to assess
quality of fresh water habitats [22].

IV. CONCLUSION
Odonates are the flagship insect communities. They hold
almost all kinds of habitats with high trophic position and
diversity. Odonates respond to anthropogenic activities and serve
as successful indicators of habitat quality across the world. The
rich biodiversity of Margherita of Tinsukia district of Assam
(India) is under tremendous anthropogenic pressure, due to
opencast coal mining in the last few years. Frequent sighting of
some odonate species and becoming very rare some common
species, in a particular area, is a matter of concern. The present
study has served as the baseline information to odonate diversity
of Tinsukia district as well as it contributes to the database of the
state. However, further intense investigations are required to
understand the habitat and diversity of odonates along with the
affect of mining on odonate fauna of the region.
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AUTHORS
First Author Sailendra Mohan Das, Department of Biology,
Guru Teg Bahadur Academy, Tinsukia, Assam, 786125
E mail: sailenmdas@gmail.com , Mob. No. - 09577690011

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Table: 1, Checklist of Damselflies (Sub-order: Zygoptera) recorded from VKV (NEC) Baragolai and its
vicinity, Tinsukia, Assam (India)
Sub-Order

Family

Zygoptera

Coenagrionide

Calopterygidae
Lestidae

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Scientific Name

Status

Agriocnemis pieris
Agriocnemis pigmaea
Agriocnemis spendidissima
Ceriagrion cerinorubellum
Ceriagrion coromandelianum
Ceriagrion fallax
Ceriagrion olivacem
Ischnura aurora
Onychargia atrocyana
Vestalis gracilis
Lestes praemorsus

VC
O
O
C
VC
R
R
R
O
VR
VR

Table: 2, Checklist of Dragonflies (Sub- order: Anisoptera) recorded from VKV(NEC) Baragolai and its vicinity, Tinsukia,
Assam (India)
Sub-Order

Family

Anisoptera

Aeshnidae
Gomphidae
Libellulidae

Scienlific Name

Status

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Anax guttatus
Gynacantha bayadera
Ictinogomphus rapax
Acisoma panorpoides
Aethriamanta brevipennis
Brachydiplax chalybea
Brachydiplax ferinosa
Brachydiplax sobrina
Brachythemis contaminata
Crocothemis servilia

R
VR
VR
O
O
O
O
VC
VC
C

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.

Diplacodes trivialis
Hydrobasileus croceus
Lathrecista asiatica
Neurothemis fulvia
Neurothemis intermedia
Neurothemis tullia
Orthetrum chrysis
Orthetrum glaucum
Orthetrum pruinosum
Orthetrum sabina
Palpopleura sexmaculata
Pantala flavescens
Rhodothemis rufa
Rhyothemis plutonia
Rhyothemis variegata
Tholymis tillarga
Trithemis aurora
Zyxomma petiolatum

VC
R
R
VC
VC
C
VC
R
C
VC
C
VC
C
VR
C
R
O
R
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Fig 1:- Odonata diversity in and around the Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (NEC), Baragolai, Margherita, Tinsukia district
of Assam (India); Family wise record of species.

India & Assam

Tinsukia District

Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (NEC) Baragolai and its vicinity

Fig 2:- Location Map of the Study Area (Map is not to scale)

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