Ischnura aurora
Species of damselfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ischnura aurora,[1][3], the gossamer damselfy or golden dartlet and also known as the aurora bluetail,[6] is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.[1][7]
| Golden dartlet | |
|---|---|
| |
| male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Coenagrionidae |
| Genus: | Ischnura |
| Species: | I. aurora |
| Binomial name | |
| Ischnura aurora | |
 | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
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.[8]
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
Ischnura aurora habitat is among vegetation along the banks of ponds, rivers, canals, marshes and wet rice fields.[1]
Distribution
Ischnura aurora 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.[9]
Etymology
The genus name Ischnura is derived from the Greek ἰσχνός (ischnos, "thin" or "slender") and οὐρά (oura, "tail"), referring to the slender abdomen of species in the genus.[10]
The species name aurora is of uncertain origin. Aurora is Latin for "dawn" or "break of day", and is also the name of the Roman goddess of dawn, associated in mythology with the morning dew.[10]
Gallery
Male in Australia
Illustration of Ischnura aurora wing
Photo of female wings
Photo of male wings
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