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(The title should be changed so that the species name (the second word) is all lower case.)

• ninefathom 4y ago
  Oh good- I'm not the only one whose eyelid started twitching over this. "Specific epithet" is the term you're looking for, by the by.
  • pvaldes 4y ago
    Not the only one, nope. Must be: Pantala flavescens. Uppercase only in the first word of the name. Is a common error. The species can be identified by the small brown spots near the tip of wings. There is an additional "diamond-like" spot cell called Pterostigma near the tip of all dragonflies but Pantala has this, plus a small (multi-cell) brown area > The data are circumstantial Is true that insects can enter and travel in airplanes but the species is known to group in some Asian countries so we would need a lot of dragonflies travelling in a lot of airplanes at the same time each year. Statistically unlikely. And is a big insect that would create some stir around.
  • Myrmornis 4y ago
    Yup, I know the term "specific epithet" :) It sounds like we both have some evolutionary biology or systematics background. However, using that term wouldn't really have aided communication here :) It's funny what a strong reaction this provokes if you have background in systematics. This is not a minor error :)
    • ninefathom 4y ago
      Cf. "Da***t! Is that a Latin phrase or a binomial species name?" And incidentally, ethnobotany if your curiosity was eating at you.