A rare odonate species, which is known to use tree holes as a larval habitat, has been found in the southern parts of Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot.

 Experts claim that it is for the first time that such an odonate variety has been found in the Indian sub-continent. A team of scientists, including K S Anoop Das, K A Subramanian, K G Emiliyamma, Muhamed Jafer Palot and K A Nishadh, chanced upon ‘Lyriothemis tricolor’ in the region during a recent field study.

Many species of odonates are known to use ‘phytotelmata’,plant-held waters, as a breeding habitat worldwide. But no species are known to breed in phytotelmata in India, researchers said.

The species were found to be bred in the tree holes of evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats, they said.

Its presence was mainly reported in New Amarambalam, Silent Valley and Thattekkad areas of Western Ghats, they said. A detailed report about its finding and habitat was published in the ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa’, an international publication, last month.