Overview
Taxonomy
The Infraorder Anisoptera is a member of the Suborder Epiprocta. Here is the complete "parentage" of Anisoptera:
- Domain: Eukaryota
Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa
A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
- Superphylum: Panarthropoda
Cuvier
- Phylum: Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
- Subphylum: Mandibulata
Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum: Atelocerata
Heymons, 1901
- Superclass: Panhexapoda
- Class: Insecta
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
- Subclass: Dicondylia
- Infraclass: Pterygota
- Winged Insects
- Superorder: Odonatoptera
- Order: Odonata
Fabricius, 1793 - Dragonflies and Damselflies
- Suborder: Epiprocta
- Infraorder: Anisoptera - Dragonflies
- Suborder: Epiprocta
- Order: Odonata
Fabricius, 1793 - Dragonflies and Damselflies
- Superorder: Odonatoptera
- Infraclass: Pterygota
- Winged Insects
- Subclass: Dicondylia
- Class: Insecta
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
- Superclass: Panhexapoda
- Infraphylum: Atelocerata
Heymons, 1901
- Subphylum: Mandibulata
Snodgrass, 1938
- Phylum: Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
- Superphylum: Panarthropoda
Cuvier
- Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa
A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
The Infraorder Anisoptera is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (20): Aeshnidae · Archithemistidae · Asiopteridae · Austropetaliidae · Cordulegastridae · Corduliidae · Euthemistidae · Gomphidae · Heterophlebiidae · Isophlebiidae · Karatawiidae · Liassogomphidae · Liassophlebiidae · Libellulidae · Neopetaliidae · Oreopteridae · Petaluridae · Progonophlebiidae · Synthemidae · Turanothemistidae
Families
Aeshnidae
The hawkers (or darners in North America) (family Aeshnidae) include the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe, and are among the largest of the dragonflies on the planet. This family represents also the fastest flying dragonflies of the order of the dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). [more]
Archithemistidae
Asiopteridae
Austropetaliidae
Austropetaliidae is a small family of dragonflies occurring only in Chile and Australia. [more]
Cordulegastridae
The Cordulegastridae are a family of Odonata (dragonflies) from the suborder Anisoptera. They are commonly known as Spiketails. Some vernacular names for the species of this family are biddie and flying adder. They have a large brown or black body with yellow markings. They can be found along small, clear, woodland streams, flying slowly 30 to 70 cm above the water. When disturbed, however, they can fly very rapidly. [more]
Corduliidae
The insect family Corduliidae contains the emerald dragonflies or green-eyed skimmers. These dragonflies are usually black or dark brown with areas of metallic green or yellow, and most of them have large, emerald-green eyes. The larvae are black, hairy-looking, and usually semi-aquatic. [more]
Euthemistidae
Gomphidae
Gomphidae is an Odonata family that contains about 90 genera and 900 species. They are commonly referred to as clubtail dragonflies. The name refers to the clublike widening of the end of the abdomen (abdominal segments 7 through 9). However, this club is usually less pronounced in females and is entirely absent in some species. [more]
Heterophlebiidae
Isophlebiidae
Karatawiidae
Liassogomphidae
Liassophlebiidae
Libellulidae
The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Even if these are excluded (as Silsby does), there still remains a family of over 1000 species. With nearly worldwide distribution, these are almost certainly the most often seen of all dragonflies. [more]
Neopetaliidae
Neopetalia punctata is a dragonfly, the only member of the family Neopetaliidae. [more]
Oreopteridae
Petaluridae
The Petaltails of the family Petaluridae are apparently the most ancient of the extant true dragonflies (infraorder Anisoptera), having fossil members from as early as the Jurassic (over 150 million years ago). [more]
Progonophlebiidae
Synthemidae
Turanothemistidae
More info about the Family Turanothemistidae may be found here.
Sources
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