Aeshna Petalura

''Aeshna'', or the mosaic darners, is a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. Species within this genus are generally known as "hawkers" (Old World) or "darners" (New World).

Description

These are relatively large dragonflies. Their thoraces and abdomens are brown in color, with blue or yellow stripes or spots on the thorax, and yellow, blue or green spots on the abdomen.

Natalia von Ellenrieder's 2003 paper demonstrated that the Holarctic and Neotropical species placed in this genus did not share a common ancestor, and proposed the latter be placed in the genus ''Rhionaeschna''.

The name ''Aeshna'' was coined by the Danish entomologist Fabricius in the 18th century. The name may have resulted from a printer's error in spelling the Greek ''Aechma'', "a spear". The spelling ''Aeschna'' has been intermittently used over a period of time, but is now abandoned for the original name ''Aeshna''. However, derived genus names (such as ''Rhionaeschna'') retain the 'sch' spelling, as this is how they were first cited.

Species

Many species formerly included in ''Aeshna'' have been split into other genera, including ''Afroaeschna'', '' Andaeschna'', ''Pinheyschna'', ''Rhionaeschna'', and '' Zosteraeschna''.

The genus ''Aeshna'' includes these species:
*''Aeshna affinis'' – southern migrant hawker, blue-eyed hawker
*''Aeshna athalia''
*''Aeshna caerulea'' – azure hawker
*''Aeshna canadensis'' – Canada darner
*''Aeshna clepsydra'' – mottled darner
*''Aeshna constricta'' – lance-tipped darner
*''Aeshna crenata'' – Siberian hawker
*''Aeshna cyanea'' – blue hawker, southern hawker
*''Aeshna eremita'' – lake darner
*''Aeshna frontalis''
*''Aeshna grandis'' – brown hawker
*''Aeshna interrupta'' – variable darner
*''Aeshna isoceles'' – Norfolk Hawker
*''Aeshna juncea'' – common hawker, sedge darner, moorland hawker
*''Aeshna mixta'' – migrant hawker
*''Aeshna palmata'' – paddle-tailed darner
*''Aeshna persephone'' – Persephone's darner
*'' Aeshna petalura''
*''Aeshna septentrionalis'' – azure darner
*''Aeshna serrata'' – Baltic hawker
*''Aeshna shennong''
*'' Aeshna sitchensis'' – zigzag darner
*''Aeshna soneharai''
*''Aeshna subarctica'' – bog hawker, subarctic darner
*''Aeshna tuberculifera'' – black-tipped darner
*''Aeshna umbrosa'' – shadow darner
*'' Aeshna vercanica''
*'' Aeshna verticalis'' – green-striped darner
*''Aeshna viridis'' – green hawker
*''Aeshna walkeri'' – Walker's darner
*''Aeshna williamsoniana'' – Williamson's darner

Fossil species

Note that many fossil species in the genus were named at a time when many extant species now included in other genera were included in ''Aeshna''. Recent sources are not available to indicate whether these species belong in the new circumscription of ''Aeshna'' as used in this article. Fossil species include:

*†''Aeshna andancensis'' – Late Miocene (Turolian), France
*†''Aeshna cerdanica'' – Late Miocene (Vallesian), Spain
*†''Aeshna dido'' (Aeshnidae ''incertae sedis'') – Late Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany
*†''Aeshna ghiandonii'' – Late Miocene (Messinian), Gessoso Formation, Italy
*†''Aeshna heterofasciata'' (Anisoptera ''incertae sedis'') – Early Oligocene, Salt Formation, Germany
*†''Aeshna larvata'' (Anisoptera ''incertae sedis'') – Oligocene, Florissant Formation, Colorado
*†''Aeshna messiniana'' – Late Miocene (Messinian), Gessoso Formation, Italy
*†''Aeshna multicellulata'' – Late Miocene (Messinian), Gessoso Formation, Italy
*†''Aeshna oligocenica'' – terminal Oligocene, Niveau du gypse d'Aix Formation, France
*†''Aeshna ollivieri'' – Late Oligocene, Campagne-Calavon Formation, France
*†''Aeshna paleocyanea'' (Aeshnidae ''incertae sedis'') – Early Oligocene (Stampian), France
*†''Aeshna solida'' – Oligocene, Florissant Formation, Colorado
*†''Aeshna theobaldi'' (Aeshnidae ''incertae sedis'') – Early Pleistocene (Villafranchian), France
*†''Aeshna tyche'' (Aeshnidae ''incertae sedis'') – Late Miocene (Sarmatian), Upper Freshwater-Molasse Formation, Germany
*†''Aeshna voesendorfensis'' – Late Miocene (Messinian), Austria

References

External links

''Aeshna''
BugGuide
*Corbet, P. S. 1999. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA, 829pp.
*von Ellenrieder, N., 2003. A synopsis of the Neotropical species of'' 'Aeshna' ''Fabricius: the genus ''Rhionaeschna'' Förster (Odonata: Aeshnidae). - ''Tijdschrift voor Entomologie'' 146 (1): 67-207.

{{Authority control

Aeshnidae
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius
Anisoptera genera