A new dragonfly species, Sarasaeschna dosdewaensis, has been recorded from Sribhumi district in Assam. The species is called the Long-tailed Boghawker and was named after Dosdewa, a remote forest village in the area.
Taxonomic Details
Sarasaeschna dosdewaensis belongs to the dragonfly group under the order Odonata. The holotype male specimen was collected on 3 June 2020 along Dosdewa forest village in Dosdewa Khasi Punjee, near the borders of Mizoram and Tripura.
Publication and Research Team
The species was formally described in a research paper published on 21 April 2026 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. The research team included Shantanu Joshi, Krushnamegh Kunte, Dattaprasad Sawant, Ujwala Pawar, Fahim Khan, Rejoice Gassah, and Vijay Anand Ismavel.
Wider Northeast India Study
The finding is part of a study that reported three new dragonfly species from Northeast India. Two of these species were described from Arunachal Pradesh, which is also part of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity region.
Conservation Context
- Sribhumi district has forest habitats that support insect diversity, including odonates such as dragonflies and damselflies.
- Dosdewa lies in a forested border zone near Mizoram and Tripura, where habitat continuity is relevant for species distribution studies.
- Dragonflies are freshwater-dependent insects and are used in biodiversity surveys because many species are linked to streams, ponds, and wetlands.
Associated Institutions
The Makunda Nature Club, run by the Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital, was involved in specimen collection and photography. Rejoice Gassah heads the hospital’s biodiversity department and participated in the field documentation.
Last Modified: April 24, 2026