Journal of
Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2026 | 18(3): 28604–28606
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10222.18.3.28604-28606
#10222 | Received 24 Octobeer 2025 | Finally
accepted 27 February 2026
Westward range extension of the Greater Bluewing Rhyothemis plutonia Selys, 1883 (Insecta: Odonata: Libellulidae) into
Uttarakhand, India
Biodiversity Documentation Associate, Jim’s Jungle Retreat, Village
& PO Dhela, Ramnagar,
District Nainital, Uttarakhand 244715, India.
Editor: Anonymity
requested. Date of publication: 26 March 2026 (online & print)
Citation: Damle, O.S. (2026).
Westward range extension of the Greater Bluewing Rhyothemis plutonia
Selys, 1883 (Insecta:
Odonata: Libellulidae) into Uttarakhand, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 18(3): 28604–28606. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10222.18.3.28604-28606
Copyright: © Damle 2026. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted
use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing
adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This research received no external funding and was conducted as part of the author’s employment.
Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Dr. Dattaprasad Sawant and Dr. Rajesh Chaudhary for validating the novelty of this record, and to Tejas Mehendale for his valuable inputs throughout all stages of this note, from inception to completion. I also acknowledge Jim’s Jungle Retreat, Uttarakhand, for providing the opportunity and logistical support for biodiversity documentation at the site.
Rhyothemis Hagen, 1867 (family Libellulidae) is a genus
of vibrantly coloured dragonflies represented by four
species in the Indian subcontinent: R. plutonia
Selys, 1883; R. phyllis
Sulzer, 1776; R. triangularis Kirby,
1889; and R. variegata Linnaeus, 1763
(Subramanian & Babu 2024). Rhyothemis
plutonia, commonly known as the Greater Bluewing, has been recorded primarily from the northeastern
states of India and the adjoining regions of Nepal and Bangladesh (Subramanian
2009; Kalkman et al. 2020; Joshi et al. 2024; GBIF
2025). This note reports the first confirmed record of this species from
Uttarakhand, thereby establishing a significant westward range extension.
Jim’s Jungle Retreat (JJR) is a ~13-acre rewilded
property situated near Dhela Village (29.408 °N,
79.009 °E; ~310 m), within the buffer zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve,
Uttarakhand. The property, developed on previously degraded land two decades
ago, now supports a planted forest matrix interspersed with seven artificial,
permanent, lentic waterbodies of varying sizes. The surrounding landscape is
dominated by agricultural fields, human habitation, and Eucalyptus
monocultures. To date, 35 odonate species have been
documented from JJR based on the author’s unpublished observations. The site’s
largest waterbody, known as ‘Champion’s Pool’ (CP; ~350 m² surface area, ~1 m
maximum depth), supports Hydrilla sp. and Azolla
sp. as the dominant aquatic vegetation, with marginal vegetation dominated by
grasses, Murraya koenigii
and Pogostemon benghalensis.
On 10 July 2025 at 1020 h, a dragonfly was observed perched on a grass
clump at the margin of CP. It was photographed using a Nikon D5600 DSLR and Nikkor 70–300 mm telephoto lens, without capture or
handling of the insect (Image 2 & 3). It was moderately sized, with a dark
head, legs, and body; metallic-blue wings; a dark pterostigma; and hyaline
apices on the forewings. The cerci were distinctly longer than the paraprocts, and the presence of secondary genitalia
confirmed that the specimen was male. Identification as R. plutonia was made based on these morphological
features and comparison with congeners following Fraser (1936). The species was
not observed in subsequent surveys at the site. A distribution map and
calculations of great-circle distances to the nearest prior records were
prepared using QGIS v.3.34.12-Prizren (QGIS 2025). Coordinates were
approximated where exact values were unavailable.
This record represents the first confirmed occurrence of R. plutonia in Uttarakhand, raising the state’s known odonate diversity to at least 128 species (Subramanian
& Babu 2024). The species is absent from all
published literature and distributional accounts for the state of Uttarakhand
(Subramanian & Babu 2018; De et al. 2021; Singh
2022; Joshi et al. 2024; iNaturalist 2025). The
nearest verified records lie over 500 km to the east in Nepal and northeastern
India (Image 1, Table 1). Only a single male individual has been recorded, with
no females or evidence of reproductive activity, suggesting the absence of a
local breeding population at present. Continued field surveys are, therefore,
necessary to determine whether this observation represents a vagrant individual
or an overlooked peripheral population. Nevertheless, the addition of R.
plutonia to the Uttarakhand state fauna
highlights the potential for further significant discoveries in this relatively
understudied region. It also emphasizes the need for systematic surveys to
clarify the distributional limits, population status and ecology of odonates in western Himalaya.
Table 1. Closest verified records of Rhyothemis
plutonia relative to Jim’s Jungle
Retreat, Dhela, Uttarakhand (29.408°N, 79.009°E). Coordinates
in decimal degrees (WGS84); approximated
where exact values were unavailable.
|
Locality and state |
Country |
Coordinates |
Distance (km) |
Reference |
|
Rupa Lake near Pokhara, Gandaki |
Nepal |
28.152°N, 84.107°E |
518 |
Vick 1985 |
|
Narayani near Chitwan National Park, Bagmati |
Nepal |
27.553°N, 84.336°E |
562 |
Hoyer 2016 |
|
Gorumara National Park, West Bengal |
India |
26.756°N, 88.798°E |
1,005 |
Dawn 2015 |
|
Srirampur, Assam |
India |
26.433°N, 89.902°E |
1,121 |
Gassah 2019 |
For
images - - click here for full PDF
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