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Epiophlebia Sinensis
The genus ''Epiophlebia'' is the sole member of the family Epiophlebiidae, which is itself the sole living representative of the Epiproctan infraorder Epiophlebioptera, and it contains only three species. The first two species were historically placed in their own suborder Anisozygoptera, considered intermediate between dragonflies and damselflies, mainly because the hind wings are very similar in size and shape to the forewings and held back over the body at rest, as in damselflies. It has more recently been recognized that the genus ''Epiophlebia'' shares a more recent ancestor with dragonflies (having become separated from these in and around the uplifting of the Himalayas), and the group has accordingly been reclassified as an infraorder within the dragonflies. Very recently a third species, '' Epiophlebia sinensis'', has been described from Heilongjiang province in northeast China, bridging ''Epiophlebia'' distribution gap between Nepal and Japan. A fourth species has been cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epiophlebia Superstes
''Epiophlebia superstes'', the Japanese relict dragonfly, is one of the four species of the genus '' Epiophlebia'', belonging to the family Epiophlebiidae, which is itself the sole living representative of the epiproctan infraorder Epiophlebioptera. Distribution and habitat This species of dragonfly is native to Japan, distributing widely around the forested headwaters of rivers in its four main islands, serving as a freshwater indicator of ecosystem health. With the adults being adapted for flight in these cool habitats, and the larvae to exploit the stable environment and detritus based ecosystems of high elevation spring-fed seeps and streams. Its flight period lasts about one month in length, but varies significantly through the diverse altitudes and latitudes of Japan, extending from late March in Kyushu to July in Hokkaido, for example, in the Kinki area, the flight period of ''E. superstes'' extends from the end of April to mid-June. Phylogeny and evolutionary history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protanisoptera
The Odonatoptera are a superorder (sometimes treated as an order) of ancient winged insects, placed in the probably paraphyletic group Palaeoptera. The dragonflies and damselflies are the only living members of this group, which was far more diverse in the late Paleozoic and contained gigantic species, including the griffinflies (colloquially called "giant dragonflies", although they were not dragonflies in the strict sense) of the order Meganisoptera (formerly Protodonata). This lineage dates back at least to the Bashkirian, not quite 320 million years ago. Systematics and taxonomy There is little consensus about the relationships of the Odonatoptera. What is certain is that they are a clade of winged insects that stands outside the Neoptera. But various authors' analyses have yielded any one of three mutually exclusive phylogenies, or some variant thereof: The least problematic (in a taxonomic sense) view is that the Odonatoptera are the sister taxon of the Ephemeropteroi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarsophlebiidae
The Tarsophlebiidae is an extinct family of medium-sized fossil odonates from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous period of Eurasia. They are either the most basal member of the damsel-dragonfly grade ("anisozygopteres") within the stem group of Anisoptera, or the sister group of all Recent odonates. They are characterized by the basally open discoidal cell in both pairs of wings, very long legs, paddle-shaped male cerci, and a hypertrophied ovipositor in females. Description Adult Body The head is similar to that of Recent Gomphidae with two large and globular compound eyes that are distinctly separated, but closer together than in damselflies ( Zygoptera). There are also two cephalic sutures. The pterothorax seems to be even more strongly skewed than in damselflies. The legs are extremely long with short and strong spines, and with very elongate tarsi. There are three tarsal segments ( tarsomeres), of which the most basal one is twice as long as the others. The pair of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarsophlebioptera
The Tarsophlebiidae is an extinct family of medium-sized fossil odonates from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous period of Eurasia. They are either the most basal member of the damsel-dragonfly grade ("anisozygopteres") within the stem group of Anisoptera, or the sister group of all Recent odonates. They are characterized by the basally open discoidal cell in both pairs of wings, very long legs, paddle-shaped male cerci, and a hypertrophied ovipositor in females. Description Adult Body The head is similar to that of Recent Gomphidae with two large and globular compound eyes that are distinctly separated, but closer together than in damselflies ( Zygoptera). There are also two cephalic sutures. The pterothorax seems to be even more strongly skewed than in damselflies. The legs are extremely long with short and strong spines, and with very elongate tarsi. There are three tarsal segments (tarsomeres), of which the most basal one is twice as long as the others. The pair of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protozygoptera
The Odonatoptera are a superorder (sometimes treated as an order) of ancient winged insects, placed in the probably paraphyletic group Palaeoptera. The dragonflies and damselflies are the only living members of this group, which was far more diverse in the late Paleozoic and contained gigantic species, including the griffinflies (colloquially called "giant dragonflies", although they were not dragonflies in the strict sense) of the order Meganisoptera (formerly Protodonata). This lineage dates back at least to the Bashkirian, not quite 320 million years ago. Systematics and taxonomy There is little consensus about the relationships of the Odonatoptera. What is certain is that they are a clade of winged insects that stands outside the Neoptera. But various authors' analyses have yielded any one of three mutually exclusive phylogenies, or some variant thereof: The least problematic (in a taxonomic sense) view is that the Odonatoptera are the sister taxon of the Epheme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
