The new species of owlfly discovered from the forests of Malappuram.
| Photo Credit: TH
In a breakthrough in insect research, scientists from the Shadpada Entomology Research Lab (SERL) at Christ College, Irinjalakuda, have uncovered a new species of owlfly, belonging to the family Myrmeleontidae and order Neuroptera, from the forests of Malappuram. The species, Protidricerus albocapitatus, was found in the Nedumkayam forest in Malappuram district — a vibrant pocket of the Western Ghats, one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots.
This discovery is scientifically significant: it marks only the second time the genus Protidricerus has been recorded in India, arriving a full 134 years after British entomologist McLachlan described the country’s first species, Protidricerus elwesii, in 1891 from West Bengal.
The name albocapitatus comes from Latin — albus meaning “white” and capitatus referring to the long tuft of white hairs on the head and the prominently white club of the antenna.
The formal description appears in the international journal Zootaxa. The research team includes Suryanarayanan T.B., SERL researcher and Assistant Professor at St. Aloysius College, Elthuruth; research supervisor and SERL head Bijoy C. of Christ College; Hungarian scientist Levente Ábrahám; and Muhamed Jafer Palot of the Zoological Survey of India.
Reason for name
“Though often confused with dragonflies at a glance, adult owlflies stand apart with their long, clubbed antennae, large eyes, and twilight activity patterns — traits that inspired the name “owlfly.” They belong to the order Neuroptera, comprising holometabolous insects, in sharp contrast to dragonflies, which are hemimetabolous insects under the order Odonata,” says Dr. Suryanarayanan.
Dr. Suryanarayanan notes that targeted surveys, especially in unexplored forest regions, could reveal new species and distributional records of owlflies from India. With this addition, Kerala now hosts five known species of owlflies, and India’s total rises to 37. The work was supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi.
Published – November 19, 2025 04:33 pm IST
