A new species of dragonfly discovered in Assam has been named after two women for their pioneering work in the northeast.
The new species, ‘Platygomphus benritarum’, has been named after Monisha Behal, a founder member of North East Network (NEN) and Rita Banerji, founder of Green Hub.
The species, a single male, was found by two researchers, Shantanu Joshi and Anuja Mital, in June, 2020 near the banks of the Brahmaputra in Tezpur district of Assam. An article on the discovery has been published in the International Journal of Odonatology, produced by the World Dragonfly Association.
The article mentions that the species was named in honour of Behal and Banerji “for their pioneering work across two decades”.
“Both women have been empowering and training the youth of northeast India to become change makers, working towards creating ecological security, sustainable livelihoods and social change. The species epithet is the feminine genitive plural created from combining the two names Ben and Rita,” it said.
Behal or ‘Ben B’ as she is popularly known, works with NEN, a women’s rights organisation that links with rural and urban women and civil society organisations on issues of development, social, gender and environmental justice in the northeast.
Besides being the founder, Banerji is a project director of Geen Hub. She is a leading environmental filmmaker. The organisation aims to empower youth in conservation education, action, climate sustainability and social change through the visual medium.
{{/usCountry}}Besides being the founder, Banerji is a project director of Geen Hub. She is a leading environmental filmmaker. The organisation aims to empower youth in conservation education, action, climate sustainability and social change through the visual medium.
{{/usCountry}}The new dragonfly species, which has turquoise blue eyes and dark brown face covered with hair on the sides, was found resting on a large tree around 5-6 metres from the banks of Brahmaputra.
In M arch 2020, researchers also found another dragonfly species, ‘Anormogophus heteropterus’, after many decades. A single male specimen of the species was found on the terrace of a residential building in Tezpur.
ANY REAX FROM THE WOMEN?