Platycypha caligata | |
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Male | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Odonata |
Family: | Chlorocyphidae |
Genus: | Platycypha |
Species: | P. caligata |
Binomial name | |
Platycypha caligata (Selys, 1853) |
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Synonyms | |
Libellago caligata Selys, 1853 |
Libellago caligata Selys, 1853
Platycypha caligata (dancing jewel) is a species of damselfly in the family Chlorocyphidae. It is found in eastern, central and southern Africa from Ethiopia to Angola and South Africa. Its natural habitats include shady parts of subtropical or tropical streams and rivers in forest, woodland, savanna, and shrubland, and shorelines of lakes.
Males perform remarkable territorial and courtship displays which include flashing their brightly coloured legs and waving their abdomens.