Marsh Dancer

Marsh Dancer

Onychargia atrocyana

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

7 Verified sightings at Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary From 2019 to 2026
25 In all 3 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Marsh Dancer

Onychargia atrocyana a species of damselfly in the family Platycnemididae. This species is commonly known as the marsh dancer or black marsh dart. It is found in Asia: Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam.

It is a medium sized damselfly with velvet-black head, thorax and black-capped brown eyes. The dorsum of the thorax has narrow citron-yellow ante humeral stripes in the sub-adult and teneral stage. The sides are citron-yellow, marked with a broad oblique black stripe over the postero-lateral suture in that stage. But all these marks are obscured by pruinescence in adults. Abdomen is black, unmarked in the adult; but with narrow bluish basal rings on segments 3 to 6. There are yellow marks on the lateral sides of segment 1 and 2 in sub-adults. Female is similar to the sub-adult male with yellow marks.

It breeds in ponds and marshes in forests. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
2 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
3 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
~30%
2 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Guwahati 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~30%
5 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
6 Prayagraj 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
8 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
10 New Delhi 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Marsh Dancer in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Dancer sighting in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 57 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Marsh Dancer in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary?

January, May and October

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Dancer in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, against under 5% in February, April, July–September and November–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Marsh Dancer?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Marsh Dancer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary the best place to see a Marsh Dancer?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Marsh Dancer sightings, Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Sepilok (Malaysia, about 10%) and Khao Yai National Park (Thailand, about 10%).

Where does the Marsh Dancer sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Marsh Dancer is recorded against all the insects logged in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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