''Rhodothemis lieftincki'', common name Red arrow, is a species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

in the family

Libellulidae The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Ev ...

. The genus '' Rhodothemis'' is found in India, south-east Asia and Australia. ''Rhodothemis lieftincki'' is the only species of the genus seen in Australia. It inhabits coastal and inland streams, rivers, lagoons and ponds in an arc around northern Australia, from about

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

in the west to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in the east. ''Rhodothemis lieftincki'' is a medium-sized dragonfly with a wingspan about 60-85mm. The adult male is red in colour, and the female is a duller brown or orange. ''Rhodothemis lieftincki'' has been assessed for the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Gallery

Female Red Arrow (15822771848).jpg, Female side view Red_Arrow_(Rhodothemis_lieftincki)_(16001263113).jpg, Male side view Rhodothemis lieftincki 8994.jpg, Male Rhodothemis lieftincki 3113.jpg, Male, Cairns, Queensland Rhodothemis lieftincki young male.jpg, Young male Rhodothemis lieftincki female face.jpg, Female face Rhodothemis lieftincki female wings (34898814452).jpg, Female wings Rhodothemis lieftincki male wings (34898821082).jpg, Male wings

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2796842 Libellulidae Odonata of Australia Odonata of Asia Insects of Indonesia Insects of Southeast Asia Insects of India Insects of New Guinea Taxa named by Frederic Charles Fraser Insects described in 1954