The petaltail dragonflies (Odonata: Petaluridae): Mesozoic habitat specialists that survive to the modern day

Abstract

Aim To explore the phylogenetics and historical biogeography of the dragonfly family Petaluridae (known as 'petaltails'), a relict dragonfly group with unique habitat and life history attributes.Location Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Chile and North America.Methods Using five mitochondrial and three nuclear gene fragments we recovered garli-part maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic hypotheses for 10 of the 11 extant petaltail species. Biogeographical patterns were analysed using Lagrange and interpreted through beast relaxed clock dating analysis.

How to date a dragonfly: Fossil calibrations for odonates

“…However, we lack a crown group fossil record for Epiophlebiidae, Austropetaliidae, Chlorogomphidae, Neopetaliidae, Cordulegastridae, and GSI/Synthemistidae. Molecular ages for the nodes within Odonata are few in number, with only Calopterygoidea (Dumont et al, 2005) Petaluridae (Ware et al, 2014), and Libelluloidea/Cavilabiata ) estimated so far. For Anisoptera, the molecular ages suggest a Cretaceous origin of Cavilabiata.…”

Evolution ofNewZealand insects: summary and prospectus for future research

“…For example, the petal‐tailed dragonflies (Family Petaluridae) were long considered to be one such group, based on morphological characters, a supposition that has recently been supported by molecular evidence (Ware et al . ). Taken together, it appears very likely that there has been available freshwater habitat across the New Zealand landmass, however much reduced during the Oligocene, since at least the Eocene and possibly even since the initiation of rifting from Gondwana in the Cretaceous (∼80 mya).…”

“…; Ware et al . ). Only six freshwater Coleopteran families occur in New Zealand of ∼25 known worldwide (Winterbourn & Gregson ), including one endemic subfamily of Hydraenidae (Klimaszewski & Watt ).…”

Larval burrow morphology and groundwater dependence in a mire-dwelling dragonfly,Petalura gigantea(Odonata: Petaluridae)

“…This may contribute, in time, to understanding the evolutionary divergence in larval lifestyles between the non-fossorial and fossorial petalurids, in conjunction with phylogenetic, morphological and historical biogeographical (palaeoecological) research (e.g. Fleck, 2011;Ware et al, 2014). It will also contribute to better understanding of threats to these species, particularly from habitat loss and degradation, and the potential compounding threats associated with a rapidly changing climate (Baird, 2012, ch.…”