Ponmudi hills

21.02.2024

Ponmudi hills , Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow 

Why in the  news?

A team of researchers have discovered a new species of damselfly at the Ponmudi hills in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.

About Ponmudi Hills:

• Ponmudi translates to ‘Golden Hill’ or ‘Golden Peak’ is located in the state of Kerala.
• It is part of the Western Ghats mountain range that runs parallel to the Arabian Sea and is at an altitude of 1100 meters above sea level.
• The hills are a part of the Agasthyamalai landscape, at the southernmost tip of the Western Ghats.

Key facts about the new species of damselfly:

• It is named Cliffside Bamboo Tail (Phylloneura rupestris).
• It belongs to a group called bamboo tails, so named because of their long abdomen that resembles bamboo stalks.
• It lays eggs in the moss beds in seasonal rolls that flow over rock cliffs.
• The discovery is significant because, for over 160 years, the genus Phylloneura was considered monotypic, with a single described species, the Myristica Bamboo Tail

○Myristica Bambootail’s population is associated with myristica swamps and hence is known by its common name Myristica Bambootail.

○It has remained the sole described species of the genus Phylloneura and is considered near-threatened as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

○It is endemic to the Western Ghats and has been recorded only in the area between the Nilgiris Hills and Sharavathi Valley, north of the Palghat Gap.

                                         Source:  The Hindu