Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. (Odonata: Anisoptera: Macromiidae), a new dragonfly species from Sri Lanka

Abstract

The genus Macromia is represented in Sri Lanka by two endemic species. In this paper a third presumed endemic species is described based on a single male specimen collected at Kirikitta, Weliweriya, Western Province in the low country wet zone of the country. Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. differs from its congeners in Sri Lanka by having turquoise blue eyes, an entirely black labrum, a short yellow ante-humeral stripe, an interrupted yellow stripe on the anterior margin of metepisternum anddifferences in the secondary genitalia and anal appendages. As this is the only record of the species knowledge of its natural history and distribution is limited. This discovery highlights the need for further systematic surveys of Odonata in Sri Lanka using sampling methods suitable for the detection of elusive species.

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International Journal of Odonatology, 24.2021, 169–177
OpenAccess. ©2021 Ulf Norling, published online 1 Jan 2021 by Wachholtz This work is
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.
OpenAccess.
OpenAccess. ©2021 Ulf Norling, published online 1 Jan 2021 by Wachholtz This work is
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.
2021
Amila Prasanna Sumanapala, published online 09 Aug 2021 by Wachholtz
OpenAccess. ©2021 Ulf Norling, published online 1 Jan 2021 by Wachholtz This work is
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.
Amila Prasanna Sumanapala*
Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. (Odonata: Anisoptera: Macromiidae),
a new dragonfly species from Sri Lanka
https://doi.org /10.23797/2159-6719_24_13
Received: 22 November 2020 – Accepted: 8 February 2021 – Published: 09 August 2021
Abstract: The genus Macromia is represented in Sri Lanka by two endemic species. In this paper a third
presumed endemic species is described based on a single male specimen collected at Kirikitta, Weliweri-
ya, Western Province in the low country wet zone of the country. Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. diers
from its congeners in Sri Lanka by having turquoise blue eyes, an entirely black labrum, a short yellow
ante-humeral stripe, an interrupted yellow stripe on the anterior margin of metepisternum and dierences
in the secondary genitalia and anal appendages. As this is the only record of the species knowledge of its
natural history and distribution is limited. This discovery highlights the need for further systematic sur-
veys of Odonata in Sri Lanka using sampling methods suitable for the detection of elusive species.
http://zoobank.org/References/8CCEACBE-04C3-4D2E-A69C-C034EFA6E152
Keywords: new species; endemic; South Asia
Introduction
The genus Macromia Rambur, 1842 is mainly a tropical genus distributed in Australasia, Europe and
the Americas and comprises 81 species (Paulson and Schorr, 2020). In South Asia it is represented
by 17 species (Kalkman et al., 2020). Out of the 14 species known from India, nine are known from
the Western Ghats range (Subramanian et al., 2018), to which the Sri Lankan biodiversity has close
anities with. No Macromia species is shared between India and Sri Lanka (Kalkman et al., 2020).
Only two species of Macromia, which are both endemic, are known from Sri Lanka (Bedjanič et al.,
2014; Kalkman et al., 2020). Of these two, Macromia inti Lieftinck, 1977 is among the rarest of Sri
Lankan odonates with only a single male collected in 1970 (Bedjanič et al., 2014; Lieftinck, 1977 ) and
no conrmed subsequent records (Bedjanič et al., 2 014). The other Sri Lankan representative of the
genus, Macromia zeylanica Fraser, 1927 is also uncommon even though it has a wider distribution cov-
ering the low country and lower montane areas of the wet and intermediate climatic zones of the country
(Bedjanič et al., 2014; Sumanapala, 2017 ).
In 2015, a specimen of a Macromia with injuries caused possibly as a result of colliding with a vehicle,
was accidentally found by the author. It was rst observed fallen on the ground beside a road, unable to
y and with an injured abdomen. The specimen was observed and photographed in life, but did not
survive the injuries. After taxonomic investigations, it was recognized as a species not known to science
and is described in the present paper as a new species.
Materials and Methods
The holotype was hand collected and photographed in life using a Canon EOS 1100D camera. Later the
specimen was photographed using a Canon 7D Mark II tted with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS
USM Lens. Secondary genitalia were photographed under an Olympus SZ51 microscope using a Canon
7D Mark II. A Spi 2000 dial verneir caliper was used to obtain measurements. Morphological terminol-
ogy follows Dijkstra and Clausnitzer (2014). The distribution map was created using QGIS 2.10.1.
Abbreviations – Fw: forewing. Hw: hindwing. Ax: antenodal cross-veins. Px: postnodal cross-veins.
Cux: cubital cross-veins. S1-10: abdominal segments.
* Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka;
apsumanapala@gmail.com; ORCID: 0000-0002-1482-3652

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Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Systematic Section
Genus Macromia Rambur, 1842
Macromia weerakooni s p . nov.
Material: Holotype – Mature male (Figure 1–5). Collected at Kirikitta, Weliweriya, Western Prov-
ince, Sri Lanka (7.01955 N, 80.02976 E; Elevation 26 m) (Figures 6 & 7). 12.iv.2015. To be deposited
at the National Museum of Natural History, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Figure 1: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. holotype in life. Dorsal view.
Figure 2: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. holotype. Lateral view (Note: abdomen is broken due to an injury
occurred in life).

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Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Referred specimens: Holoty pe Macromia inti (#75816 U. S. National Museum), collected in Ug-
galkaltota, Ratnapura district, Ceylon (= Sri Lanka) on 10-14 October 1970 by Oliver S. Flint Jr.
Holotype Macromia zeylanica (NHMUK010208405 Natural History Museum, United Kingdom),
collected from Kandy, Ceylon on 13 October 1924 by F. C. Fraser. Lectotype Macromia avicincta
(NHMUK013322958 Natural History Museum, United Kingdom). Lectotype Macromia irata Fras-
er, 1924 (NHMUK013322946 Natural History Museum, United Kingdom – Data Portal https://d ata.
nhm.ac.uk /object/ef7d5ef3-b257-49bd-a9fc-99c5b7b86321). Lectotype Macromia bellicosa Fraser,
1924 (NHMUK013322948 Natural History Museum, United Kingdom – Data Portal https://d ata.
nhm.ac.uk/object/f5050891-02ac-4af2-beed-133c25bcdd1e).
Etymology: The specic epithet is a latinized genitive singular of Weerakoon, honouring Prof. De-
vaka K. Weerakoon (University of Colombo, Sri Lanka). He is an inspirational gure behind numer-
ous biologists in the country and an academic spearheading the science based conservation activities
in Sri Lanka. The author wishes to express his sincere gratitude to Prof. Weerakoon for all the guid-
ance, support and encouragement generously provided throughout his career.
Dierential diagnosis: A large, black Macromia marked with yellow, with turquoise blue eyes and
a turquoise blue sheen on metalic green thorax. It can be distinguished from the two other known
species of Macromia in Sri Lanka by having (1) turquoise blue eyes in adults (vs. bottle green), (2)
entirely black labrum (vs. labrum with yellow markings), (3) a short citron yellow triangular antehu-
meral stripe that reaches less than half of the length of mid-dorsal carina (vs. long antehumeral stripe
in M. zeylanica and no antehumeral stripe in M. inti), (4) an interrupted citron yellow stripe in the
anterior margin of metepisternum (vs. continuous stripe in M. zeylanica and M. inti), (5) an upward
pointed, laterally attened short spine with a broad base on the dorsal carina of last abdominal seg-
ment (vs. a broad based slightly lower and less pointed short spine in M. zeylanica and a thin, long,
backward pointed spine in M. inti), (6) cerci having a gently outward curved pointed apex (vs. an
inward curved, blunt apex in M. zeylanica and an outward curved, thin, elongated and pointed apex
in M. inti), (7) Almost entirely black tergum between the roots of the wings except for a small yel-
low spot between forewings (vs. prominent yellow markings across tergum in both M. zeylanica and
M. inti) and (8) dierently shaped secondary genitalia. Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. is clearly
distinguishable from its congeners of the genus Macromia in the Western Ghats region, India other
than Macromia avicincta Selys, 1874; Macromia irata Fraser, 1924 and Macromia bellicosa Fraser,
1924 based on the structure of the secondary genitalia. It can be distinguished from the latter three
species by (1) comparatively less tapering (vs. more tapering) apex of cerci, (2) shape of the dorsal
spine on S10, (3) predominantly black face with some citron yellow markings (vs. predominatly cit-
ron yellow face with less black), (4) interrupted citron yellow stripe in in the anterior margin of met-
episternum (vs. continuous stripe).
Description: MALE – Head (Figures 3 A, 3 B and 4 A): Labium black in the middle with yellow
lateral parts. Labrum and genae black. Anteclypeus brownish black. Postclypeus yellow with some
black in the middle of the anterior margin. Short black setae present on clypeus, especially on the
lateral parts. Frons glossy black with yellow markings. Antefrons with a yellow margin which ex-
tends towards the posterior margin on lateral sides as an elongated and a tapering stripe. Postfrons
has two yellow spots on either side of the median ocellus. Rest of the frons glossy black. Sides of
frons have black setae which extend towards the middle of the antefrons as well. Vertex glossy black
and with black setae on posterior end. Occiput black. Eyes in the preserved specimen are reddish
brown (turquoise blue with black spots towards the ventral side in life).
Thorax (Figures 3 A and 3 B): Thorax dark metallic green with a turquiose blue sheen. Mesepister-
num with long pale setae. Antehumeral stripe citron yellow, reaches only about half the length of the
mesepisternum and triangular in shape as it tapers towards the posterior end. An interrupted citron
yellow stripe along the anterior margin of metepisternum. Ventral border of metepimeron has a nar-
row citron yellow stripe. Legs long and black with yellow on the posterior side of coxa and trochanter.
Wings (Figure 5): Clear. Venation black. Right Fw with 13 Ax and 7 Px while the left Fw has 15 Ax
and 7 Px. Right Hw with 10 Ax and 10 Px and left with 11 Ax and 10 Px. Pterostigma elongated, black
and covers two cells. 6 Cux in Fw and 4 in Hw. Sectors of arculus fused at base in Hw but not fused at
the base in Fw. Supertriangle has 4 Cux in right Fw and 3 in left Fw. Hw supertriangle has 2 Cux. Anal
loop with 8 cells. Triangle without cross-veins. Discoidal eld of both Fw and Hw has 2 cells at base
and at the wing margin right Fw and left Fw has 12 and 10 cells respectively, while Hw has 13 cells.

172
Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Figure 3: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. holotype in life. Dorsal (A) and lateral (B) view of head and thorax.
Figure 4: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. holotype. Frontal view of head (A); dorsal view of cerci and
epiproct (B); lateral view of secondary genitalia (C); lateral view of S10, cerci and epirpoct (D).
Abdomen (Figures 1 & 2): Black and marked in citron yellow. S1 fully black. S2 with a dorso-lateral
pale yellow mark and lateral yellow spot towards the ventral side on its anterior half. A thin pale yel-
low stripe extends from the anterior ventral yellow spot and runs along the ventral border for about
two thirds of the posterior half. S3 has a yellow mark covering the ventral portion of anterior half and
broadens towards the dorsal carina from either side from the middle of the segment towards its pos-
terior end. These yellow patches are separated by a thin black wedge shaped area along the dorsal
carina. S4 and S5 with two narrowly divided dorsolateral yellow spots in the anterior half. S6 fully
black. S7 with a broad yellow basal ring that covers about one third of the length. S8 has a thin in-
complete yellow ring, starting from below, running on either side along the basal margin and ending
with a slightly posteriorly curved, club shaped blunt tip. In between these narrow basal yellow por-
tions, dorsum of S8 black. S9 and S10 fully black. An upward pointed dorsal spine with a broad base
on the last segment. Short black setae on the lateral sides of the posterior half of S10.

173
Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Figure 5: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. holotype. Line drawing of right Fw and Hw.
Appendages (Figures 4 B & 4 D) dark reddish brown. The cerci about 1.5 times the length of S10,
broad at the base and taper towards the apex to end in an outward directed spine. Inner margin of the
cerci curved in the posterior half to form the spine in the posterior end. A posteriorly angled lateral
spine on the outer margin of each cerci. A row of very small teeth on the ventral surface of cerci
posterior to the lateral spine. The epiproct slightly longer than the cerci and curved upward in the
posterior half. Two minute and upward pointed notches on the epiproct tip. Setae on cerci, especially
in the apical halves.
Secondary genitalia (Figure 4 C): Anterior lamina stalk-like, elongated and protuberant. Reaches a
little less than a half of the length of the hamule. Hamule witha broad lobe and tapers towards the
apex curving upward to end with a well dened upward hook. Genital lobe has a blunt, downward
directed apex and covered with black setae.
Measurements (mm): Abdomen with appendages – 47.8, Forewing – 43.2, Hindwing – 41.1, Cerci –
2.3, Epiproct – 2.7.
Female – Unknown.
Habitat: The holotype was collected on a road running through a paddy eld in a semiurban area.
The irrigation canals with riparian vegetation running through or at the margin of the paddy elds
are the closest potential habitat of the species in its type locality.
Distribution: The type locality (Figure 6) is located in the low country wet zone of Sri Lanka. No
other locality records are known thus far.
Natural History: Since the holotype was collected in April it is likely that the adults are on the
wings during the southwestern monsoon season. No other information is known of the natural his-
tory of the species. However, it can be assumed that the natural history of Macromia weerakooni sp.
nov. is generally similar to that of other Macromia species in the region.
Vernacular Name: The English vernacular name suggested for the species is “Sri Lankan Turquoise
blue Cruiser” based on the turquoise colour of the eyes.

174
Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Figure 6: Type locality of Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. (red circle) and known distribution of M. zeylanica
(yellow circles: after Bedjanicˇ et al. 2014 and author’s unpublished data), M. flinti (blue circle) and the
location of Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka (black square). A – wet zone, B – intermediate zone, and
C – dry zone.

175
Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Discussion
With the discovery of Macromia weerakooni sp. nov., the genus Macromia is represented in Sri
Lanka by three species. The new species is easily distinguishable from its congeners in Sri Lanka,
M. zeylanica (Figure 8) and M. inti, by the dierences in the eye colour, facial and thoracic mark-
ings and the structure of anal appendages and secondary genitalia. It is also larger than M. zeyl-
anica (Fraser, 1927; Lieftinck, 1977). Among the other Macromia found in the South Asian re-
gion, M. weerakooni is distinct from all but M. avincicta, M. bellicosa and M. irata based on the
structure of secondary genitalia (Fraser, 1924, 1936). It can be distinguished from the latter three
species based on the structures of anal appendages, dorsal spine on abdominal segment 10, facial
markings and interrupted lateral thoracic stripe. In the eld, especially in ight, M. weerakooni
might be mistaken for the comparatively larger Epophthalmia vittata cyanocephala Hagen, 1867,
which also has bluish eyes and a dark body marked in yellow (Bedjanič et al., 2014; Sumanapala,
2017). However, M. weerakooni’s smaller size, short antehumeral stripe and abdomen marked
only in yellow with no reddish orange markings towards the posterior half, will separate it from
E. vittata.
Since Macromia weerakooni is only known from Sri Lanka it can be considered a species endemic
to the country . The type locality is in the northern part of the biodiversity rich, wet climatic zone of
the country. However, the habitats present at the type locality and its geo-climatic conditions are not
unique or geographically restricted. Therefore it is unlikely that the species is restricted to this spe-
cic area. Of the other known Macromia species of Sri Lanka, M. zeylanica has a relatively wide
distribution (Figure 5) and occupies a range of lotic habitats with riparian vegetation, some of which
are present, also at the type locality of M. weerakooni. It is likely that M. weerakooni also occurs in
similar habitats and has a wider distribution in the low country wet zone of the country. The absence
of additional records of the species may be due to low abundance, elusive habits, short ight season
or limitations in sampling.
Since the species is only known from a single specimen collected from a single locality, its exact
range, habitat preferences, adult ight phenology, larval stages and other biological or ecological
information is currently unavailable, making Macromia weerakooni one of the priority endemic spe-
cies for further research. Documentation of additional records and observations on natural history
are important for a better understanding of the species and for ensuring its conservation.
The fact that this new species was discovered in a semiurban environment (Figure 7) not far from the
densely populated capital city of Sri Lanka, Colombo (Figure 6), highlights several interesting pos-
sibilities. It suggests that there may be other elusive species of Odonata even among large anisopter-
ans in Sri Lanka yet unknown to science, and that they may occupy habitats outside the protected
areas and even occur in densely populated, human dominated landscapes as well. This calls attention
to the need for further surveys covering a broad range of habitats with suitable sampling methods to
detect less abundant, elusive and crepuscular species in order to document and understand the odo-
nate fauna of the country. The discovery of M. weerakooni also serves to emphasize the importance
of conserving the remaining habitats in urban and semiurban landscapes to support the local biodi-
ve r sity.

176
Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Figure 7: Google Earth image of the type locality (yellow pin) and surrounding area dominated by human
modified landscapes.
Figure 8: A comparison between males of Macromia weerakooni sp. nov. (A) and Macromia zeylanica (B)
in life.

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Sumanapala: Macromia weerakooni sp. nov
Acknowledgement
The author expresses his gratitude to Ben Price of the Natural History Museum of London and
Karolyn Darrow and Oliver Flint of U. S. National Museum for providing photographs of the speci-
men referred. Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka is thanked for the permit for further
surveys (WL/3/2/91/15). Dilani Sumanapala and Priyantha Wijesinghe are thanked for their invalu-
able support and inputs in improving the manuscript. The reviewers of the manuscript are thanked
for the constructive reviews provided. Kalya Subasinghe, Divanka Randula and Muditha Katuwawa-
la are thanked for their support and encouragement.
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