Context

• Recently, a peculiar dragonfly, the Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia), in the Puzhakkal area of the Kole wetlands in Thrissur was in news due to very rare biological phenomenon.

Key Details

• male dragonflies typically have a prominent blood­red colouration in almost all the body parts, including the head, thorax, abdomen and legs, and the female is pale yellow in colour with a dark brown thorax and legs.
• They had recorded ‘gynandromorphism’ — a very rare biological phenomenon.
• Gynandromorphs are chimeric individuals having both male and female tissues and it is viewed by the scientific community as a genetic aberration.
• Even though common in some arthropod taxa such as Crustacea and Arachnida, the paper says it is very rare in odonates and only 30 individuals from seven families have been reported with the condition worldwide.