Ceylonosticta subtropica

[Sebbe]

Three new species of the genus Ceylonosticta Fraser, 1931 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae) from Sri Lanka and the rediscovery of Ceylonosticta subtropica (Fraser, 1933)

Three new species of Ceylonosticta are described and illustrated: Ceylonosticta nancyae sp. nov., Ceylonosticta rupasinghe sp. nov. and Ceylonosticta alwisi sp. nov. from Samanala Nature Reserve (Adam's Peak), Kuruwita-Erathna footpath, Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka. Ceylonosticta subtropica has been recorded for the first time after 83 years and the first depiction of its genital ligula is provided.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13887890.2016.1257443

[Sebbe]

Ceylonosticta subtropica is endemic to Sri Lanka (Bedjanič et al. 2014, 2016). Recent new records of supposed C. subtropica from a small area in the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary (Priyadarshana et al. 2016) are considered doubtful by the assessors and need taxonomic confirmation, therefore this information is not considered in this assessment. This leaves the type series from two nearby locations in the Balangoda, collected in 1926, as the only confirmed examples of the species ever found and surveys in the area in recent years have not found the species; it is possible that this species is already extinct. An accurate estimate of its area of occupancy (AOO) is not possible with the available data but, if it still exists, the AOO is almost certainly below 10 km². Moreover, the AOO is inferred to be declining due to loss of forest and other threats in the Balangoda area and its surrounds.

If this species is not already extinct then an ongoing decline in overall population is inferred from loss and degradation of suitable habitat within the area where it occurs and any surviving populations are likely to be severely fragmented.

www.iucnredlist.org/species/197110/170706794#population