Cordulegastroidea

Cordulegastroidea
Temporal range: Possible Late Jurassic record
Delta-spotted spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Clade: Cavilabiata
Superfamily: Cordulegastroidea
Hagen, 1875[1]
Families[2]
Map showing global distribution of Cordulegastroidea
Distribution of Cordulegastroidea

Cordulegastroidea is a superfamily of dragonflies comprising the families Chlorogomphidae, Cordulegastridae and Neopetaliidae.[2][3]

The superfamily includes both living and extinct lineages, with fossils known from the Late Jurassic (possibly) and the Early Cretaceous.[4][5]

Taxonomic history

The superfamily Cordulegastroidea was established by Hagen in 1875.[3]

Modern classifications recognise three extant families within the superfamily: Chlorogomphidae, Cordulegastridae and Neopetaliidae.[2][3]

The fossil clade Chlorogomphida, proposed by Bechly in 1996, broadly corresponds to Cordulegastroidea and related extinct stem groups.[3]

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic studies generally support Cordulegastroidea as a monophyletic group comprising Chlorogomphidae, Cordulegastridae and Neopetaliidae.[3][6][7]

Within modern dragonflies, Cordulegastroidea is generally recovered as the sister group to Libelluloidea.[3][6]

Families

The following families are currently placed in Cordulegastroidea:[2][3]

Fossil record

The oldest confirmed fossils assigned to Cordulegastroidea belong to the extinct families Mesochlorogomphidae and Araripechlorogomphidae, which are regarded as close relatives of the Chlorogomphidae.[4][5]

The family Hemeroscopidae, may also belong to this lineage, but its placement remains uncertain.[8]

Etymology

The superfamily name Cordulegastroidea is derived from the type genus Cordulegaster and the zoological suffix -oidea, used for superfamilies.

The genus name Cordulegaster is presumably derived from the Greek κορδύλη (kordylē, "club") and γαστήρ (gastēr, "belly" or "abdomen").[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hagen, H.A. (1875). "Synopsis of the Odonata of America". Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 18: 20–96 [50] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.; Bechly, Günter; Bybee, Seth M.; Dow, Rory A.; Dumont, Henri J.; Fleck, Günther; Garrison, Rosser W.; Hämäläinen, Matti; Kalkman, Vincent J.; Karube, Haruki; May, Michael L.; Orr, Albert G.; Paulson, Dennis R.; Rehn, Andrew C.; Theischinger, Günther; Trueman, John W.H.; van Tol, Jan; von Ellenrieder, Natalia; Ware, Jessica (2013). "The classification and diversity of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata)". Zootaxa. 3703 (1). Magnolia Press: 36–45. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3703.1.9. hdl:10072/61365.
  4. 1 2 Fleck; et al. (2008). "New Lower Cretaceous 'libelluloid' dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata: Cavilabiata) with notes about estimated divergence dates for this group" (PDF). Palaeodiversity. 1: 19–36.
  5. 1 2 Nel, André; Ribeiro, Guilherme Cunha (2024-04-01). "New fossil wings shed light on Lower Cretaceous Araripechlorogomphidae and minimum age of the Chlorogomphoidea (Odonata: Anisoptera): Crato formation, Araripe Basin, NE Brazil". Cretaceous Research. 156 105811. Bibcode:2024CrRes.15605811N. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105811. ISSN 0195-6671.
  6. 1 2 Bybee, S.M.; Ogden, T.H.; Branham, M.A.; Whiting, M.F. (2008). "Molecules, morphology and fossils: a comprehensive approach to odonate phylogeny and the evolution of the odonate wing". Cladistics. 24 (4): 477–514. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00191.x. PMID 34879634.
  7. ↑ Carle, F.L.; Kjer, K.M.; May, M.L. (2008). "Evolution of Odonata, with special reference to Coenagrionoidea (Zygoptera)". Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny. 66: 37–44. doi:10.3897/asp.66.e31679.
  8. ↑ Bechly, G.; Nel, A.; Martínez-Delclòs, X.; Fleck, G. (1998-01-01). "Four new dragonflies from the Upper Jurassic of Germany and the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia (Anisoptera: Hemeroscopidae, Sonidae, and Proterogomphidae fam. nov.)". Odonatologica. 27 (2): 149–187. ISSN 0375-0183.
  9. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1954). Composition of Scientific Words: A Manual of Methods and a Lexicon of Materials for the Practice of Logotechnics.