Epiprocta

Epiprocta
Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Recent
Kirby's dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Epiprocta
Lohmann, 1996
Infraorders

For extinct groups, see text

Epiprocta, also called Epiproctophora, is a proposed suborder of Odonata that groups the dragonflies with the living genus Epiophlebia and several extinct lineages. It is distinguished from the damselflies, which form the suborder Zygoptera. The crown group Epiprocta first appeared during the Early Jurassic.

Classification

Epiprocta was established by Heinrich Lohmann in 1996 to accommodate dragonflies together with lineages traditionally placed in Anisozygoptera, which were regarded as a paraphyletic assemblage when fossil taxa were included. In this arrangement, Anisoptera is treated as an infraorder, while the living Epiophlebia lineage is placed in the infraorder Epiophlebioptera. Lohmann also included Tarsophlebiidae, but Rehn (2003) placed it closer to Zygoptera.

An alternative classification used by the World Odonata List recognises three suborders of living Odonata: Zygoptera, Anisozygoptera and Anisoptera. In that arrangement, Epiophlebia is placed in Anisozygoptera, and Epiprocta is not used in the classification of living species.

Cladogram of Epiprocta after Rehn (2003):

Odonata

Epiproctophora is used as the clade containing all odonatans living and extinct more closely related to living epiproctans than to damselflies.

Cladogram of Odonata including Epiproctophora by Deregnaucourt et al. 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lohmann, Heinrich (1996). "Das phylogenetische System der Anisoptera (Odonata)" [The phylogenetic system of the Anisoptera (Odonata)]. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 106 (9): 209–266.
  2. ↑ Osozawa, Soichi & Nel, André (2024). "Paleopteran molecular clock: Time drift and recent acceleration". Ecology and Evolution. 14 (9) e70297. Bibcode:2024EcoEv..1470297O. doi:10.1002/ece3.70297. PMC 11410561. PMID 39301292.
  3. 1 2 3 Rehn, Andrew C. (2003). "Phylogenetic analysis of higher-level relationships of Odonata". Systematic Entomology. 28 (2): 181–240. Bibcode:2003SysEn..28..181R. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00210.x.
  4. ↑ Kohli, Manpreet Kaur; Ware, Jessica L.; Bechly, Günter (2016). "How to date a dragonfly: Fossil calibrations for odonates". Palaeontologia Electronica. 19 (1): 576. Bibcode:2016PalEl..19..576K. doi:10.26879/576. S2CID 73565613.
  5. ↑ Carter, Payton; Goodman, Aaron; Abbott, John; Bota Sierra, Cornelio; Bybee, Seth M.; Dow, Rory A.; Fomekong Lontchi, Judicael; Frandsen, Paul B.; Gonzalez Mozo, Laura; Guralnick, Rob; Hämäläinen, Matti; Joshi, Shantanu; Kohli, Manpreet K.; Lupiyaningdyah, Pungki; Montana, Katherine O.; Newton, Lacie; Onsongo, Violet; Orr, Albert G.; Pinto, Ângelo Parise; Sanchez-Herrera, Melissa; Sutherland, Laura N.; Theischinger, Gunther; Ware, Jessica L.; Zhang, Haomiao; Kalkman, Vincent J. (2026). "The classification and diversity of extant dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata)". International Journal of Odonatology. 29: 95–124. doi:10.48156/1388.2026.1917385.
  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 1 September 2026.
  7. 1 2 Deregnaucourt, Isabelle; Bardin, Jérémie; Villier, Loïc; Julliard, Romain; Béthoux, Olivier (August 2023). "Disparification and extinction trade-offs shaped the evolution of Permian to Jurassic Odonata". iScience. 26 (8) 107420. Bibcode:2023iSci...26j7420D. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107420. PMC 10424082. PMID 37583549.