Family ARCHIPETALIDAE
Compiler and date details
W.W.K. Houston, Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra, ACT, Australia J.A.L. Watson, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, ACT, Australia Updated (1999) by A.A. Calder, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Introduction
The Archipetalidae is a small family containing a single species Archipetalia auriculata Tillyard found in Tasmania and previously regarded as belonging to the Neopetaliidae by Houston & Watson (1988) and Watson et al. (1991). Carle (1996) regarded it as a subfamily of Austropetaliidae but Lohmann (1996) erected a monotypic family for the single described species of Archipetalia.
Diagnosis
Adult: Small dragonflies (hindwing 31.0–34.0 mm) coloured brown and marked with yellow and white. Eyes separated by about width of median ocellus; occipital crest rounded without dorsal spine and with weakly developed posterior transverse hair fringe; antefrons with dorsal yellow stripe; postfrontal suture present; anterior face of occiput trapezoidal; dorsal mesanepisternal stripes obtuse triangular; thorax with yellowish white stripes laterally; metanepimeral stripe curved; wings with 7-8 brown costal blotches; forewing basal blotch vestigial and hindwing basal blotch well- developed; male epiproct about as wide as long, epiproctal shelf shorter than wide, with apical margin truncate; male cerci twisted straplike; female with abdominal tergites less than twice as long as high; female auricles present without carinae or flanges on abdominal segments (Carle 1996).
General References
Carle, F.L. 1996. Revision of Austropetaliidae (Anisoptera: Aeshnoidea). Odonatologica 25(3): 231-259
Houston, W.W.K. & Watson, J.A.L. 1988. Odonata. pp. 33-132 in Houston, W.W.K. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Ephemeroptera, Megaloptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Trichoptera. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 6 xi 316 pp.
Lohmann, H. 1996. Das phylogenetische System der Anisoptera (Odonata). Entomologische Zeitschrift 106: 209-252, 253-266, 360-367
Watson, J.A.L., Theischinger, G. & Abbey, H.M. 1991. The Australian Dragonflies. A guide to the identification, distributions and habitats of Australian Odonata. Canberra and Melbourne : CSIRO vii 278 pp.