View the above photo record (by Alf Taylor) in OdonataMAP here.
Find the Peak Bluet in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Coenagrionidae
Africallagma sinuatum – PEAK BLUET
Identification
Small size
Length up to 36mm; Wingspan attains 37mm.
The most elongate Bluet in the region. The very long slender abdomen and distinctive clasper shape should rule out any confusion with other species.
Similar to the Slender Bluet (Africallagma fractum). The Peak Bluet is more elongate, has a greenish hue on the upper thorax and has distinctively shaped claspers.
Click here for more details on identification.
Monk’s Cowl, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Evert Kleynhans
Habitat
A species of grasslands in open, mountainous regions with a high rainfall. Inhabits the grassy fringes of seeps and streams. Mostly found between 1000 to 2000m. a.s.l.
Behaviour
Perches on grass stems over the water, less often seen sitting on rocks.
On the wing from September to March
Status and Conservation
Uncommon and localised in South Africa. Listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution
Africallagma sinuatum has a disjunct distribution in SE Africa and is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Peak Bluet in the OdonataMAP database as at February 2020.
The next map below is an imputed map, produced by an interpolation algorithm, which attempts to generate a full distribution map from the partial information in the map above. This map will be improved by the submission of records to the OdonataMAP section of the Virtual Museum.
Ultimately, we will produce a series of maps for all the odonata species in the region. The current algorithm is a new algorithm. The objective is mainly to produce “smoothed” maps that could go into a field guide for odonata. This basic version of the algorithm (as mapped above) does not make use of “explanatory variables” (e.g. altitude, terrain roughness, presence of freshwater — we will be producing maps that take these variables into account soon). Currently, it only makes use of the OdonataMAP records for the species being mapped, as well as all the other records of all other species. The basic maps are “optimistic” and will generally show ranges to be larger than what they probably are. These maps use the data in the OdonataMAP section of the Virtual Museum, and also the database assembled by the previous JRS funded project, which was led by Professor Michael Samways and Dr KD Dijkstra.
