''Apocordulia'' is a

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 ...

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 superfamily

Libelluloidea Libelluloidea is a superfamily of dragonflies. A 2013 phylogenetic analysis suggests that this superfamily contains four families: *Corduliidae Selys, 1850 *Libellulidae Leach, 1815 * Macromiidae Needham, 1903 *Synthemistidae Tillyard, 1911 R ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Murray-Darling Basin in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. ''Apocordulia'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus with only one species, ''Apocordulia macrops'', commonly known as a nighthawk. ''Apocordulia macrops'' is a medium-sized, dull coloured dragonfly with large eyes. It inhabits inland rivers and flies at dawn and dusk.

Etymology

The word ''Apocordulia'' is derived from two words: ''apo'' from the Greek ἀπό meaning from or away, and ''Cordulia'' the genus of dragonfly. Tony Watson described the dragonfly genus ''Apocordulia'' as appearing different to the normal appearance of a ''Cordulia'' dragonfly. The species name ''macrops'' is derived from two Greek words ''makros'' (μακρός) meaning long, and ''ops'' (ὤψ) meaning eye, describing the long eye seam.

Gallery

Apocordulia macrops female wings (34242389703).jpg, Female ''Apocordulia macrops'' wings Apocordulia macrops male wings (34242396903).jpg, Male ''Apocordulia macrops'' wings

Note about family

Recent taxonomic research could not assign the genus ''Apocordulia'' to any family and it was placed ''

incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'' within the superfamily

. Prior to this, ''Apocordulia'' had been considered to be part of one of several families: Austrocorduliidae,

Synthemistidae The Synthemistidae are the family of dragonflies commonly known as tigertails, or sometimes called southern emeralds. This family is part of the superfamily Libelluloidea. Synthemistidae is an ancient dragonfly family, with some species occu ...

Corduliidae Corduliidae, also knowns as the emeralds, emerald dragonflies, or green-eyed skimmers, is a family of dragonflies. These dragonflies are usually black or dark brown with areas of metallic green or yellow, and most of them have large, emerald-green ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q13430238, from2=Q4716488 Libelluloidea Anisoptera genera Monotypic Odonata genera Odonata of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxa named by J.A.L. (Tony) Watson Insects described in 1980 Dragonflies

Etymology

Gallery

Note about family

See also

References