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1 June 2024 A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: notes on an enigmatic larva collected in Nepal, with a reappraisal of Fraser's so called ‘Caliphaea confusa’ larva from Meghalaya, India (Odonata: Calopterygidae)
Albert G. Orr, Stephen G. Butler
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

A late instar larva of an unknown calopterygid species, here termed ‘species Q’, was collected at Godawari, Nepal, in 1992 by SGB. It resembles, but appears to differ fundamentally from a larva described erroneously as Caliphaea confusa by F.C. Fraser from Meghalaya, Assam, in 1943. Fraser’s description seems to contain impossible discrepancies but the original specimen may pertain to Echo margarita, which occurs in the same locality. However, there are no records of this genus from Nepal, from where just three species of the family, Caliphaea confusa, Neurobasis chinensis and Vestalis gracilis, are known. None of these three genera have larvae matching that of ‘species Q’. The mystery larva is described and compared with that described by Fraser. Fraser’s description is analysed and critiqued. The larva is concluded to be related to the genera Mnais, Echo and Psolodesmus but its specific identity and that of the larva described by Fraser remain uncertain, with the possibility of ‘species Q’ representing a new species or even a new genus with an unknown adult being suggested.

Albert G. Orr and Stephen G. Butler "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: notes on an enigmatic larva collected in Nepal, with a reappraisal of Fraser's so called ‘Caliphaea confusa’ larva from Meghalaya, India (Odonata: Calopterygidae)," Odonatologica 53(1-2), 155-168, (1 June 2024). https://doi.org/10.60024/odon.v53i1-2.a8
Received: 20 January 2024; Accepted: 21 February 2024; Published: 1 June 2024
KEYWORDS
damselfly
echo
Himalaya
Mnais
nymph
Oriental Region
Psolodesmus
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