New Damselfly Species 'Lestes paloti' Discovered in Kerala's Western Ghats

21 July 2026National

A team of Indian odonatologists discovered a new species of spreadwing damselfly, 'Lestes paloti', from the Western Ghats in Kerala in July 2026. The species belongs to the family Lestidae under the order Odonata. The discovery was published in the International Journal of Odonatology. Naming: The species is named in honour of Dr. Muhamed Jafer Palot of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kozhikode, for his contributions to Indian odonatology. Distribution: Recorded across six districts in Kerala — Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad and Ernakulam. Habitat & characteristics: Unlike most related damselflies that stay near open water, *Lestes paloti* prefers scrub vegetation around homesteads and laterite hillocks, often far from visible water bodies. It is brown in the dry season and bluish in the monsoon, and was validated as a distinct species through detailed male genital examination. Significance: The find resolves a decades-long misidentification with Lestes nodalis and is the first new Lestes species discovered in the Western Ghats in 97 years, taking Kerala's odonate species count to 192.

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Odonata is the insect order comprising dragonflies and damselflies | Zoological Survey of India founded 1916, HQ Kolkata, under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | The Western Ghats is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2012) and one of the world's 8 hottest biodiversity hotspots; it runs about 1,600 km across 6 states

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A new spreadwing damselfly species, 'Lestes paloti', was discovered in Kerala's Western Ghats and named after Dr. Muhamed Jafer Palot of the Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode. • It is the first new Lestes species found in the Western Ghats in 97 years, taking Kerala's odonate count to 192, and belongs to the family Lestidae, order Odonata.

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