''Anax'' (from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

', "lord, master, king") is a genus of

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Aeshnidae Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 species. The family includes some of the largest dragonflies. Description Common worldwide or nearl ...

. It includes species such as the emperor dragonfly, ''Anax imperator''. ''Anax'' spp. are very large dragonflies. They generally have light-colored bodies and dark tails with pale markings. Some species are migratory, for example '' Anax junius''.

Species

The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Anax'' includes these species: *'' Anax amazili'' – Amazon darner *'' Anax aurantiacus'' *'' Anax bangweuluensis'' – swamp emperor *'' Anax chloromelas'' – dark emperor *'' Anax concolor'' – blue-spotted comet darner *'' Anax congoliath'' *'' Anax ephippiger'' – vagrant emperor *'' Anax fumosus'' *'' Anax georgius'' – Kimberley emperor *'' Anax gladiator'' – swordbearer emperor *'' Anax gibbosulus'' – green emperor *'' Anax guttatus'' – lesser green emperor *'' Anax immaculifrons'' – magnificent emperor *'' Anax imperator'' – emperor dragonfly, blue emperor *'' Anax indicus'' – elephant emperor *'' Anax junius'' – common green darner *'' Anax longipes'' – comet darner *'' Anax maclachlani'' *'' Anax mandrakae'' *'' Anax nigrofasciatus'' – blue-spotted emperor *'' Anax panybeus'' *'' Anax papuensis'' Burmeister, 1839 – Australian emperor *'' Anax parthenope'' – lesser emperor *'' Anax piraticus'' *'' Anax pugnax'' *'' Anax rutherfordi'' *'' Anax selysi'' *'' Anax speratus'' – orange emperor *'' Anax strenuus'' – giant Hawaiian darner, pinao *'' Anax tristis'' – black emperor, magnificent emperor *'' Anax tumorifer'' *'' Anax walsinghami'' – giant darner

Taxonomic history

The genus ''Anax'' was described by

William Elford Leach William Elford Leach (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist. Life and work Elford Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of an attorney. At the age of twelve he began a medical apprenticesh ...

in 1815 when he published in Brewster's '' Edinburgh Encyclopedia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q633289 Aeshnidae Anisoptera genera Odonata of Australia Odonata of Oceania Odonata of New Zealand Taxa named by William Elford Leach