Odonata (Insecta) of Kerala

In the present document, 137 species and subspecies of Odonata spread over 79 genera, 12 families and 31 subfamilies known till date from Kerala are dealt with. In many of the scientific literature on Odonata published prior to India’s independence, the distributional areas of several species found in Kerala are mentioned as Malabar, Cochin and Travancore, the formerly known princely states/provinces falling partly in the present day limits of the Kerala state. The Malabar area represents currently the Northern Districts of Kerala, falling North of the Palghat gap. Similarly, Cochin represents the present day districts of Trichur and Ernakulam, and Travancore, the districts South of Ernakulam District. Of these 137 species of Odonata, 7 species, Agriocnemis keralensis Peters, Protosticta antelopoides Fraser, Caconeura risi (Fraser), Merogomphus longistigma tamaracherriensis Fraser, Davidioides martini Fraser, Onychogomphus malabarensis (Fraser) and Idionyx rhinoceroides Fraser are endemic to Kerala.