A “bio-blitz,” which saw nature experts and members of the public surveying wildlife over an intensive 24 hours at a desert kibbutz in southern Israel, revealed a species of dragonfly not yet recorded in the country.
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| A Sinai hooktail sighted in Southern Israel. Photo: Itai Shanni via timesofisrael.com |
The Sinai hooktail — usually found close to rivers and freshwater springs — is typically found in Egypt, Niger, Oman, Saudia Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, Chad, and the United Arab Emirates.
The dragonfly was spotted by Rea Shaish, a master’s student researching dragonfly migration at the University of Haifa.
To date, 67 species of dragonflies and damselflies have been recorded in Israel. Some went extinct after the draining of marshlands in the Hula Valley in northern Israel. Others are in danger of extinction.
timesofisrael.com
