Field Guide to the damselflies of New Guinea Buku Panduan Lapangan Capung Jarum untuk Wilayah New Guinea

With a land area of over 800,000 km2, New Guinea is the second largest island in the world. It lies entirely in the southern hemisphere, just below the equator, and generally enjoys a tropical climate with high rainfall. However with its vast central mountain region rising to over 5000 m altitude, it supports a wide range of habitats, ranging from lowland rainforest, savannah and swamp to alpine meadows and permanent snowfields. These mountains give rise to numerous watersheds forming a rich system of rivers, with an abundance of small montane and sub-montane streams near their sources. Dragonflies and damselflies (Order Odonata), are a small, ancient order of insects with some 6000 species worldwide. Both the winged adults and the larvae are predators, feeding on small invertebrates and in the case of larvae sometimes fish and tadpoles. With very few exceptions, they are dependent on freshwater for their larval development. The New Guinea dragonfly fauna, including the Bismarck Archipelago, is exceptionally rich, with over 420 species presently recognised. They are found in or near aquatic habitats from sea level to 4000 m. with almost 60% adapted to running water. Of the total known fauna, 285 species (more than 62%) are Damselflies (Suborder Zygoptera). This is a significantly higher proportion than the world average of about 50% and among this sub group approximately 70% of species are associated with running water. The great majority of damselflies breeding in running water are not found outside New Guinea; these are said to be endemic. Even within the island many species have restricted distributions, but it must be noted that the extent of collecting has been relatively limited, with many new species yet to be discovered and many new distribution records anticipated in the future.