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Brachythemis contaminata

{{short description|Species of dragonfly}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Ditch jewel

| image = Ditch jewel (Brachythemis contaminata) male Kerala.jpg

| image_caption = Male

| image2 = Brachythemis contaminata female 27052014 (2).jpg

|image2_caption = Female

| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Sharma, G. |date=2010 |title=Brachythemis contaminata |volume=2010 |page=e.T167368A6335347 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T167368A6335347.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}

| taxon = Brachythemis contaminata

| authority = (Fabricius, 1793)

| synonyms = * Libellula truncatula Rambur, 1842

}}

Brachythemis contaminata,{{World Odonata List}} ditch jewel, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in many Asian countries.Odonata: Catalogue of the Odonata of the World. Tol J. van , 2008-08-01{{cite book |last1=K.A. |first1=Subramanian |last2=K.G. |first2=Emiliyamma |last3=R. |first3=Babu |last4=C. |first4=Radhakrishnan |last5=S.S. |first5=Talmale |title=Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India |date=2018 |publisher=Zoological Survey of India |isbn=9788181714954|pages=310–311}}

Description and habitat

File:Libellulidae_Brachythemis_contaminata_on_Nelumbo_nucifera_leaf_with_water_drops,_in_a_pond.jpg leaf, in a pond]]

It is a small dragonfly with brown-capped yellowish-green eyes. Its thorax is olivaceous-brown, marked with a reddish-brown humeral stripe and two brownish stripes on each side. Wings are transparent; but with a broad bright orange fascia extending from base to within 2 to 3 cells of reddish pterostigma. Abdomen is ochreous-red, marked with dorsal and sub-dorsal brown

stripes. Anal appendages are in reddish-brown. Female is similar to the male; but in pale yellowish-green color. Wings are transparent, tinted with yellow at extreme base;, but the bright orange fascia seen in the male absent.

It breeds in weedy ponds, lakes, and slowly moving streams; especially in sluggish waters. It is very common along sewage canals, tanks, ponds and ditches.{{cite book|author=C FC Lt. Fraser|author-link=Frederic Charles Fraser|title=The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. III|publisher=Taylor and Francis|location=Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London|year=1936|pages=[https://archive.org/details/FraserOdonata3/page/n376 365]-366|url=https://archive.org/details/FraserOdonata3}}{{cite book|author=C FC Lt. Fraser|author-link=Frederic Charles Fraser|title=A Survey of the Odonate (Dragonfly) Fauna of Western India and Descriptions of Thirty New Species|year=1924|pages=438|url=http://faunaofindia.nic.in/PDFVolumes/records/026/05/0423-0522.pdf}}{{cite book|last=Subramanian|first=K. A.|title=Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India - A Field Guide|year=2005|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/Publications/Overview/Dragonflies}}{{cite web

|url=http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/234370|title=Brachythemis contaminata Fabricius, 1793|publisher=India Biodiversity Portal|access-date=2017-03-17}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.indianodonata.org/sp/578/Brachythemis-contaminata|title=Brachythemis contaminata Fabricius, 1793|publisher=Odonata of India, v. 1.00. Indian Foundation for Butterflies|access-date=2017-03-17}}

This type of dragonfly has the smallest genome of its kind. The entire circular genome is 15,056 bp in length and represents the smallest in presently known odonatan mitogenomes. (Yu et al 2014).  Its first species to have a complete mitochondrial genome among the family Libellulidae. This helps learn more about their genetics, and their evolution.{{Cite journal |last=Yu |first=Panpan |last2=Cheng |first2=Xuefang |last3=Ma |first3=Yue |last4=Yu |first4=Danna |last5=Zhang |first5=Jiayong |date=2016-05-03 |title=The complete mitochondrial genome of Brachythemis contaminata (Odonata: Libellulidae) |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/19401736.2014.984176 |journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part A |language=en |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=2272–2273 |doi=10.3109/19401736.2014.984176 |issn=2470-1394|url-access=subscription }}

Brachythemis contaminata-female.jpg|Female, Thailand

Brachythemis contaminata-male.jpg|Male, Thailand

Brachythemis contaminata-male teneral.jpg|Teneral male, Thailand

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

  • [http://www.dragonflypix.com/speciespages_en/brachythemis contaminata.html World Dragonflies]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  • [http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Brachythemis_contaminata/classification/ Animal diversity web]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20150221111646/http://www.asia-dragonfly.net/globalResults.php?Species=1326 Query Results]

External links

{{Wikispecies-inline|Brachythemis contaminata}}

{{Commons category-inline|Brachythemis contaminata}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2567986}}

Category:Libellulidae

Category:Insects described in 1793

{{Libellulidae-stub}}