Assam: New Dragonfly Species Discovered, Named After Two Women

Guwahati: A new dragonfly species which was discovered in Tezpur in Assam has been named after two women to honour their pioneering work in the northeast.

The two women have been identified as Monisha Behal, a founder member of North East Network (NEN) and Rita Banerji, the founder of Green Hub and the newly discovered species, Platygomphus benritarum, have been named after them.

The species were initially sighted by two researchers going by the name of Shantanu Joshi and Anuja Mital near the banks of the Brahmaputra in Assam's Tezpur district in June 2020.

The species were seen resting on a huge tree which lies 5-6 metres away from the Brahmaputra's banks. 

Notably, only one of its kind was found and it happened to be a male which has turquoise blue eyes and a dark brown face covered with hair on the sides.

It may be mentioned that an article has been published by the World Dragonfly Association's International Journal of Odonatology about its discovery.

According to the article, the species was named after Behal and Banerji for their impeccable work over a period of two decades.

Both of them have been striving to empower and train the youth of northeast India to become change-makers and have been working vigorously to provide environmental security, sustainable livelihoods and social transformation.

Meanwhile, Behal, who is also known as 'Ben B,' works with NEN, a women's rights organisation in the northeast that collaborates with rural and urban women and civil society organisations on issues of development, social, gender and environmental justice.

On the other hand, Banerji is a project director at Geen Hub and also happens to be its founder. She is a renowned filmmaker whose focus is primarily on environmental issues.

The organization aims to empower youth in conservation education, activism, climate sustainability and social change through the visual medium.

Also read: Gunotsav underway in Lakhimpur district

Also watch: