Thursday 7 August 2014

Cat Tien National Park: Time in the rain well spent

From the afternoon of July 31 until the early afternoon of August 5 I was the guest of Roy Bateman at the ForestFloor lodge in Cat Tien National Park to help a hand with the Odonata list of the park. Recently James Holden had been spending time researching the Anisoptera of the park and found some very interesting things. It was a golden opportunity to see some of the species from the south. I did not exactly count on August being the wettest month in the park, so both my cameras and lenses got soaked like the rest of me. Which accounts for the fact I have few pictures to show for my efforts and even less good ones. Many are foggy. But I clocked 63 species, 40 dragons and 23 damsels, of which several were new to Vietnam. It was thus certainly worth the effort, apart from the fact that the hospitality shown by Roy was fantastic and the lodge great not just because of the dragonflies. Over the next few days I will show some of the species identified in pictures. Here is a list:

Neurobasis chinensis
Vestalis gracilis (surprisingly common)
Euphaea masoni
Dysphaea gloriosa (common)
Heliocypha biforata
Libellago hyalina (reasonably common)
Libellago lineata
Aciagrion tillyardi (to my knowledge new for Vietnam)
Agriocnemis nana
Agriocnemis pygmaea
Archibasis oscillans (to my knowledge new for Vietnam)
Argiocnemis rubescens (reasonably common)
Ceriagrion auranticum
Ceriagrion malaisei
Ceriagrion calamineum (to my knowledge new for Vietnam)
Onychargia atrocyana
Pseudagrion australasiae
Pseudagrion rubriceps
Coeliccia kazukoae (to my knowledge new for Vietnam)
Copera ciliata
Copera marginipes
Copera vittata
Prodasineura autumnalis
Gynacantha subinterrupta
Gynacantha basiguttata (new to Vietnam, already found by James)
Ictinogomphus decoratus
Nychogomphus duaricus (to my knowledge new to Vietnam)
Acisoma panorpoides
Crocothemis servilia (strangely scarce)
Orthetrum sabina
Orthetrum chrysis
Orthetrum pruinosum
Pantala flavescens
Trithemis aurora
Trithemis festiva
Aethriamantha aethra
Aethriamantha brevipennis
Brachydiplax chalybea
Brachydiplax farinosa
Brachydiplax sobrina (new for Vietnam, common)
Brachythemis contaminata
Cratilla lineata
Diplacodes trivialis
Hydrobasileus croceus
Lathrecista asiatica
Lyriothemis bivittata
Lyriothemis elegantissima (new for Vietnam, already found by James)
Neurothemis fluctuans
Neurothemis tullia
Neurothemis fulvia
Onychothemis testacea
Potamarcha congener
Pseudothemis jorina
Rhodothemis rufa
Rhyothemis phyllis
Rhyothemis variegata
Rhyothemis plutonia
Rhyothemis triangularis
Tetrathemis platyptera
Tholymis tillarga
Tramea transmarina
Urothemis signata
Zygonyx iris

In this list few Aeshnids or Gomphids. James had found a Burmagomphus sp, Orolestes octomaculatus, 2 species of Epophthalmia and a Idionyx (yolanda/thailandica) on top of these species, but undoubtedly the dry season has more to offer.


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