Petaluridae
| Petaluridae | ||||||||||||
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Tanypteryx pryeri |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Petaluridae | ||||||||||||
| Tillyard , 1917 |
The petaluridae , in English as 'Petaltails' known are a family of dragonflies (Anisoptera). They are considered to be one of the most original among the dragonflies living today. Fossil relatives (e.g. Protolindenia wittei from the Solnhofen limestone) are known from the Upper Jura 150 million years ago.
There are eleven species of Petaluridae worldwide, including the Australian Petalura ingentissima, the largest recent dragonfly species with a maximum wingspan of 16 centimeters and a body length of 10 centimeters. Two genera and three species live in the USA , one on the east coast and the other two on the west coast. The eastern species is Tachopteryx thoreyi , the western ones are Tanypteryx pryeri and Tanypteryx hageni . Phenes raptor lives in southern South America and two species of the genus Uropetala in New Zealand . The remaining species all belong to the genus Petalura and occur only in Australia and Tasmania.
The larvae of the Petaluridae are semi-terrestrial and live on moist soil near water, in pools of water under wet leaves, or in self-dug, partly water-filled mud pipes.
literature
- Jill Silsby: Dragonflies of the World . Natural History Museum, London 2001, ISBN 0-565-09165-4 .
