Austrocnemis

Austrocnemis
Austrocnemis splendida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Family: Coenagrionidae
Genus: Austrocnemis
Tillyard, 1913[1]

Austrocnemis is a genus of damselflies belonging to the family Coenagrionidae.[2] Species of Austrocnemis are tiny, bronze-black damselflies with long legs.[3] They occur in New Guinea and Australia.[4]

Etymology

The genus name Austrocnemis combines the prefix austro- (from Latin auster, meaning “south wind”, hence “southern”) with -cnemis, from the Greek κνημίς (knēmis, “greave” or “legging”). The element -cnemis was first used in Platycnemis, referring to the expanded tibiae in that genus, but has since been used more broadly in the names of damselflies.[5]

In 1913, Robin Tillyard proposed the genus Austrocnemis for the damselfly then known as Agriocnemis splendida. The name refers to a southern representative of that group.[1][5]

Species

The genus Austrocnemis includes the following species:[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Tillyard, R.J. (1913). "On some new and rare Australian Agrionidae (Odonata)". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 37 (1912): 404–479 [456]. Bibcode:1913PLSNS..37..404T. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.22352 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  2. ↑ "Genus Austrocnemis Tillyard, 1913". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Theischinger, Günther; Hawking, John (2006). The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-64309-073-6.
  4. ↑ Watson, J.A.L.; Theischinger, G.; Abbey, H.M. (1991). The Australian Dragonflies: A Guide to the Identification, Distributions and Habitats of Australian Odonata. Melbourne: CSIRO. ISBN 0643051368.
  5. 1 2 Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.
  6. ↑ Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama. Retrieved 3 April 2026.