View the above photo record (by Rob Dickinson) in OdonataMAP here.
Find the Banded Duskdarter in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Libellulidae
Parazyxomma flavicans – BANDED DUSKDARTER
(Martin, 1908)
Identification
Small size
Length attains 40mm; Wingspan up to 68mm.
Most similar to the female and immature Southern Banded Groundling (Brachythemis leucosticta). Parazyxomma flavicans differs by having intricately patterned greenish-brown eyes and paler brown, washed out wing bands. In addition, the two species have very different habitat requirements.
Click here for more details on identification of the Banded Duskdarter.
Kosi Bay, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Ryan Tippett
Habitat
Inhabits forested areas, particularly swamp forests surrounding rivers and lakes. Favours deeply shaded habitats, often with ferns and similar undergrowth. A coastal species in South Africa.
Kosi Bay, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Ryan Tippett
Behaviour
A crepuscular, shade loving species that spends much of its time hidden in dense undergrowth. Usually perches fairly high up on twigs in full shade. Active at dusk when it hunts in clearings and along river fringes.
Status and Conservation
Uncommon and very localised in South Africa. Listed locally as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Listed globally as of Least Concern. Intolerant towards habitat degradation and is not recorded from man-made habitats.
Distribution
Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Occurs across West and Central Africa to Uganda and Rwanda in East Africa. The range extends down to Zambia, Northern Namibia and Botswana. There is a seemingly isolated population in NE South Africa and Adjacent Southern Mozambique.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Banded Duskdarter 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.
Further Resources
Virtual Museum (OdonataMAP > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name)
More common names: Gebande Skemerwerper (Afrikaans)
Type Locality: Guinea, no locality data available.
Recommended citation format: Loftie Eaton. M; Hofmeyr S; Tippett RM; Underhill L. Banded Duskdarter Parazyxomma flavicans. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2020/05/12/banded-duskdarter-parazyxomma-flavicans/
