Urothemis venata is a new species for Ghana; it was only described in 2015, even though its existence had been suggested by a photograph from 1983 (Dijkstra et al., 2015). It is likely that it was long confused with the only other blue Urothemis, which is much more common and easier to approach, U. edwardsii (since we observed it on a pond, very far away from us, at about fifteen meters). There are five Urothemis in Africa and 9 in the world, all red except for the two mentioned.
It is indeed very close to its blue cousin, even though, from a distance, the venation near the main veins is largely redder, as can be easily noted below. In English, it is, moreover, called the Red-veined Basker.
Another obvious difference is the almost total absence of dark markings on the abdomen, which is covered in blue pruinescence, whereas U. edwardsii displays a broad black stripe along its entire length (note, however, a slight red tint on the anterior venation in the latter).
I cannot give the exact size of this Urothemis, as the describers do not provide the length of the abdomen (as is customary, however) but only the length of the hindwing, 31 to 34 mm, specifying that it is a fairly large dragonfly. U. edwardsii reaches 38 to 44 mm.
We found it on a well-vegetated pond or pool by the side of the road, but bordered by forest on its other sides—an extraordinary body of water since we found 3 new species for Ghana there! It is also said to frequent temporary waters.
Its presence is currently confirmed only in Liberia and Sierra Leone to the west, Congo and Cameroon to the east, and Nigeria. We thus confirm its presence in Ghana, and it is likely that the species has a wide distribution but is uncommon and discrete (before our discovery, there were only 6 or 7 photos on the Web).
IUCN Red List.
Etymology of Urothemis venata
Urothemis, from the Greek -ura, meaning "-tail," referring to the long vulvar lamina of females that extends to the 10th segment. Themis—the Greek goddess of order and justice—has been used many times since Hagen (1861), and Brauer followed the fashion in 1868 when he created this genus for U. bisignata. The name of the goddess of order is particularly well suited to taxonomy, the science that aims to describe and order families, genera, and species.
Venata: The authors write, "Latin 'veined' for the artery-like red wing veins (feminine adjective)."
Dijkstra, K.-D.B., Mézière, N., and Kipping, J. (2015) - Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata). Odonatologica, 44, 447-678, p. 656.