A new species of dragonfly has been discovered on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica. This new species is named Gynacantha Varanasi. It belongs to the genus Gynacantha which is a group of almost 100 species.
All the 100 species are distributed through the tropics and subtropics in New World, Africa, Asia, and Western Pacific. These dragonflies in the New World range from South Texas and Florida through the West Indies and South to Northern Argentina.
Most of the species are large in length and ranges from 2.2-3.3 inches. But few of them are only 1.8-2 inches. Most of these species are drab-colored, dull green and brown. They are active primarily at dusk and dawn. In other species, males often rest around breeding sites such as small forest pools and guard the area during the day. But according to the news from Gurupendidikan.co.id, the newly discovered species patrol over forest pools and rest along the forest during the day.
The name of this species is chosen in honor of Ronald Vargas Castro who is one of the Costa Rica’s greatest naturalists. He has assisted many biologists during the Odonata expedition in Costa Rica and Ecuador. He has also collected many rare and undescribed species of Odonata.
Gynacantha Vargasi was founded by the researchers on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica during the wet seasons of April, June, August, and November.