About Crocothemis erythraea:
- It is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
- Its common names include broad scarlet, common scarlet-darter, and scarlet darter.
- The genus Crocothemis in India includes two known species— servilia and C. erythraea. While C. servilia is common across lowland areas, C. erythraea is known from high-elevation habitats in parts of Europe and Asia, including the Himalayas.
- The molecular analysis showed that the high-elevation specimens from the Western Ghats match C. erythraea found in the Himalayas.
- Habitat: The study confirmed that the Western Ghats hosts both the species, C. erythraea, which is restricted to cool, high-elevation habitats (>550 m), while C. servilia is common in lowland habitats (<600 m).
- The researchers explain that C. erythraea colonised southern India during the Pleistocene Ice Age, when cooler climatic conditions allowed temperate fauna to extend their range southward.
- As the climate warmed, these populations became stranded in montane locations like the Sholas and grasslands of Munnar and Parambikulam, where they survived in isolation.
