First record of Epophthalmia vittata Burmeister , 1839 ( Insecta , Odonata , Anisoptera ) from Dhaka , Bangladesh

We report Epophthalmia vittata Burmeister, 1839 (Odonata, Anisoptera, Macromiidae) from Bangladesh for the first time, based on a specimen collected on 27 May 2016 in the National Botanical Garden, Dhaka. This is first record of any species of the family Macromiidae from Bangladesh. This new record exemplifies gaps in sampling for dragonflies in Bangladesh and suggests that additional research on odonates in the country is needed.


Methods
The new record was found as part of a larger study conducted from March 2015 to February 2016.Sampling was made once a week during entire study period in the three green area of Dhaka city.The sampling effort was uneven over various visits by the recorders.We recorded each

NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
species of odonate that we saw.Most species, including the commonest ones, were photographed in the field for reference.Many species groups have distinctive characteristics on both upper and lower wing surfaces that need to be studied closely, and therefore it is not always possible to see these without first capturing specimens.We have written permission from local forest officials to catch odonates to allow for further identification.Collected specimens are preserved at Entomology Lab, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka.The collected specimen of E. vittata (Fig. 2) was identified using the key by Mitra (2006) and the original description of the species by Fraser (1936).Our identification was confirmed by K. A. Subramanian.Photographs were taken with Canon 700D and Fujiflim HS35Exr, with further editing using Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Discussion
The genus Epophthalmia, as well as the family Macromiidae, has not previously been recorded from Bangladesh.This species is known from Sri Lanka, India (Andaman Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Nicobar Island, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, West Bengal), Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Sri Lanka, and Vietnam (Subramanian 2010, Chaudhry 2013).Epophthalmia vittata was categorized as Least Concern according to Subramanian (2010).
Our new record is an important contribution to knowledge on the biodiversity of the odonate fauna of Bangladesh.Odonates are important biocontrol agents, and many odonate species inhabiting agro-ecosystems are important in controlling pest populations (Tiple et al. 2008).Our new record extends the distribution of this species to Bangladesh, approximately 115 km from Tripura, India (Fig. 1).We suggest that there are more unrecorded odonate species waiting to be discovered in Bangladesh.Importantly, E. vittata occurs in Dhaka, an over-populated region where biodiversity is under threat.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Map showing first record of Epophthalmia vittata (green triangle) from National Botanical Garden, Dhaka, Bangladesh.Red triangles: nearest occurrences of this species in India.