Ischnura aurora

Golden dartlet
male
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Zygoptera
Family:	Coenagrionidae
Genus:	Ischnura
Species:	I. aurora
Binomial name
Ischnura aurora (Brauer, 1865)[2]
Synonyms
Agrion aurora Brauer, 1865[2] Agrion spinicauda Brauer, 1865[2] Ischnura bhimtalensis Sahni, 1965[3] Ischnura delicata Hagen, 1876[4]: 284  Ischnura rhodosoma Lieftinck, 1959[5]

Ischnura aurora,[1][6] the gossamer damselfy or golden dartlet and also known as the aurora bluetail,[7] is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.[1][8]

Adults

A small apple green damselfly with black thoracic stripes and blue tipped yellow tail.[1]

Male

Eyes: Black half moon-like cap above, olive green to dark olive below, which fades to pale olive beneath. Two azure blue spots are present behind the eyes. Thorax: Shining black with two pale grass green stripes; sides are light green and white below. Legs: Pale greenish white with a vertical stripe on the femur, just above the femur - tibia joint. Wings: Transparent. Wing spots: The wing spots are different in fore and hindwings, being rose-red on the forewings and uniform pale grey on the hindwings. Abdomen: Bright reddish yellow. The upper parts of the second and seventh segments have narrow and broad black marks, respectively.[1] A third of the length of the eighth segment and the full length of the ninth segment are blue. The base color of the eighth segment tergite is melanic black.[9]

Female

Eyes: Brown half moon-like cap above, green to pale green below. Thorax: Shining black with two orange stripes; sides are pale green. Legs: Pale white with vertical black stripes on femur, just above femur - tibia joint. Abdomen: A broad black stripe runs along the upper side of abdomen. The eight to tenth segments do not have azure blue markings.[1]

Habitat

Found among vegetation along the banks of ponds, rivers, canals, marshes and wet rice fields.[1]

Distribution

It is found across Australia, the Pacific Islands, East Asia and Southeast Asia.[1] There are strong differences in DNA between the Asian forms of the species and specimens from the Pacific.[1] The form found on the Indian subcontinent and in Iran is Ischnura aurora rubilio (Selys, 1876[4]) and is now considered a different taxon, Ischnura rubilio.[10]

Gallery

• 
  Male in Australia
• 
  Illustration of Ischnura aurora wing
• 
  Photo of female wings
• 
  Photo of male wings

See also

• List of Odonata species of Australia

References

1. Dow, R.A.; Rowe, R.; Marinov, M. (2020). "Ischnura aurora". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T167375A83371053. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T167375A83371053.en. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
2. Brauer, Friedrich (1865). "Dritter Bericht über die auf der Weltfahrt der kais. Fregatte Novara gesammelten Libellulinen" [Third report of the circumnavigation. Frigate Novara collected dragonfly lines.]. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien [Transactions of the Imperial-Royal Zoological-Botanical Society of Vienna] (in German). 15: 501–512 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
3. Sahni, D. N. (1965). "Studies on the Odonata (Zygoptera) of Nainital". Indian Journal of Entomology. 27 (2): 205–216.
4. de Selys Longchamps, Edm. (1876). "Le grand genre Agrion. Synopsis des Agrionines. Suite de la 5me Légion: Agrion" [The large genus Agrion. Summary of the Agrionines. Continuation of the 5th legion. Agrion]. Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique [Bulletins of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium]. 2. 41: 247–322, 496–539, 1233–1309 (separate pagination 1–199). Retrieved 2023-01-16.
5. Lieftinck, M. A. (1959). "On the New Guinea species of Ischnura Charpentier and Oreagrion Ris, with special reference to the larval forms and notes on the species of adjacent regions (Odonata, Coenagrionidae)". Nova Guinea. New Series. 10: 213–240.
6. Schorr, Martin; Paulson, Dennis. "World Odonata List". University of Puget Sound. Slater Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
7. Theischinger, Günther; Hawking, John (2006). The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 978-0643090736.
8. "Species Ischnura aurora (Brauer, 1865)". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
9. Rowe, R. J. (2010-08-13). "Ischnura aurora (Brauer 1865) (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae), an Australo-Pacific species". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 37 (2): 189–192. doi:10.1080/03014223.2010.488789. S2CID 84322718. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
10. Dumont, H. J. (2013-12-01). "Phylogeny of the genus Ischnura, with emphasis on the old world taxa (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)" (PDF). Odonatologica. 41 (4): 301–308. Retrieved 2023-01-16.

External links

Data related to Ischnura aurora at Wikispecies

Media related to Ischnura aurora at Wikimedia Commons