''Chlorocypha aphrodite,'' common name Blue Jewel, is a species of jewel

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...

in the family

Chlorocyphidae Chlorocyphidae is a family of damselflies, commonly known as jewels. These are colorful species native to the Old World tropics, where they occur along forest streams. They are most diverse in Southeast Asia. Systematics This family is monophyle ...

. The insect inhabits streams and rivers in the central African rainforest about the northern

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

basin, with a confirmed range in northern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, the Republic of the Congo, and adjacent portions of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

, and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the C ...

. The IUCN assessed ''Chlorocypha aphrodite'' as "least concern" on its Red List of Threatened Species, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. Logging is a concern. The IUCN assessment was published in 2017.

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