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 Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum
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Epiprocta (dragonflies), |
Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera). The Black-lined Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum, is a European Dragonfly. Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Johan Christian Fabricius ( January 7, 1745 - March 3, 1808) was a Danish Entomologist and economist The Epiprocta Lohmann 1996 is one of the two extant Suborders of the Odonata (the order to which Dragonflies and Damselflies Anisoptera redirects here For the genus of trees see Anisoptera (tree. Insecta {Taxobox | name = Damselflies| regnum = Animalia | phylum = Arthropoda | classis | ordo = Odonata | subordo = Zygoptera | subordo_authority This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Anisoptera redirects here For the genus of trees see Anisoptera (tree. Insecta {Taxobox | name = Damselflies| regnum = Animalia | phylum = Arthropoda | classis | ordo = Odonata | subordo = Zygoptera | subordo_authority The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata. The term odonate has been coined to provide an English name for the group as a whole, but is not in common usage; most Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term true dragonfly when referring to just the Anisoptera. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States
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History
This order has traditionally been grouped together with the mayflies and several extinct orders in a group called the "Paleoptera", but this grouping appears to be paraphyletic. Mayflies are Insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera (from the Greek ephemeros = "short-lived" pteron The name Palaeoptera has been traditionally applied to those primitive groups of Winged insects (most of them extinct that lacked the ability to fold the wings back over In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all What they do share with mayflies is the nature of how the wings are articulated and controlled (see insect flight for a detailed discussion). Insects are the only group of Invertebrates known to have evolved flight
It was long believed that the Anisoptera were a suborder and that there existed a third one, the Anisozygoptera (ancient dragonflies). However, they were combined in the suborder Epiprocta (in which Anisoptera is an infraorder) after it was revealed that the Anisozygoptera are a paraphyletic group composed of mostly extinct offshoots of dragonfly evolution (Lohmann 1996, Rehn 2003).
Characteristics
These insects characteristically have large rounded heads covered mostly by well-developed, faceted eyes, legs that facilitate catching prey (other insects) in flight, two pairs of long, transparent wings that move independently, and elongated abdomens. In most families there is a structure on the leading edge near the tip of the wing called the pterostigma, which actually is a thickened, blood–filled and often colorful area called a cell. The pterostigma is a cell in the outer wing of Insects which is often thickened or coloured and so stands out from other cells Cell in this case means a closed area of an insect wing bounded by veins. The functions of the pterostigma are not fully known, but it most probably has an aerodynamic effect and also a visual function. More mass at the end of the wing may also reduce the energy needed to move the wings up and down. The right combination of wing stiffness and wing mass could reduce the energy consumption of flying. A pterostigma is also found among other insects, like bees. Although generally fairly similar, dragonflies differ from damselflies in several, easily recognizable traits. Dragonflies are strong fliers with fairly robust bodies and at rest hold their wings either out to the side or out and downward (or even somewhat forward). Damselflies tend to be less robust, even rather weak appearing in flight, and when at rest most species hold their wings folded back over the abdomen (see photograph below, left). Dragonfly eyes occupy much of the animal's head, touching (or nearly touching) each other across the face. In damselflies, there is typically a gap between the eyes.
The largest odonates extant in the world today are the giant Central American damselfly, Megaloprepus coerulatus and Anax strenuus, a Hawaiian endemic dragonfly. Megaloprepus caerulatus is a Damselfly of the Forest Giant family ( Pseudostigmatidae) found in wet and moist forests in Central and South This article is about an insect For the Pinao people see Pijao. The Hawaiian Islands, once known as the Sandwich Islands, form an Archipelago of 19 Islands and Atolls numerous smaller
Habitat
Odonates are aquatic or semi-aquatic as juveniles. Thus, adults are most often seen near bodies of water and are frequently described as aquatic insects. However, many species range far from water.
Reproduction/Life Cycle
Eggs are laid in water or on vegetation near water or wet places, and hatch to produce pronymphs which live off the nutrients that were in the egg. They then develop into instars with aproximately 9-14 molts that are (in most species) voracious predators on other aquatic organisms, including small fishes. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two The nymphs grow and molt, usually in dusk or dawn, into the flying teneral immature adults, whose color is not yet developed. These insects later transform into reproductive adults. Male odonates have an organ near the back of the thorax in which they store spermatozoa; they mate by holding the female behind the head with claspers located at the tip of the male abdomen; the female bends her abdomen forward to touch the male organ and receive sperm. The term sperm is derived from the Greek word (σπέρμα sperma (meaning "seed" and refers to the male reproductive cells.
See also
References
- Lohmann, H. The British Dragonfly Society is a conservation organization in the United Kingdom. The following is a list of the dragonflies and damselflies found in India. {1996): Das phylogenetische System der Anisoptera (Odonata). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 106(9): 209-266.
- Rehn, A. C. (2003): Phylogenetic analysis of higher-level relationships of Odonata. Systematic Entomology 28(2): 181-240. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00210.x PDF fulltext
External links
- Odonata of North America - diagnostic photographs and information
- Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the United States - from U. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. S. Geological Survey (USGS). The United States Geological Survey ( USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. State-by-state listing of species with distribution maps, images and other information.
- Worldwide Dragonfly Association
- Dragonflies and damselflies at the Odonata Information Network]
- Maps, photographs and diagnostic information pertaining to dragonflies and damselflies
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