Apocordulia
Genus of dragonflies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apocordulia is a genus of dragonflies in the family Austrocorduliidae, endemic to south-eastern Australia.[3][4] It is monotypic, containing a single species, Apocordulia macrops.[5]
| Apocordulia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Family: | Austrocorduliidae |
| Genus: | Apocordulia Watson, 1980[2] |
| Species: | A. macrops |
| Binomial name | |
| Apocordulia macrops Watson, 1980[2] | |
 | |
| Distribution of Apocordulia macrops in inland south-eastern Australia, mainly within the Murray–Darling Basin | |
Apocordulia macrops, commonly known as the nighthawk, is a medium-sized, dull-coloured dragonfly with large eyes. It inhabits inland rivers within the Murray–Darling Basin and is crepuscular, being most active at dawn and dusk.[6][7]
Etymology
The word Apocordulia is derived from two words: apo from the Greek ἀπό meaning from or away, and Cordulia the genus of dragonfly. Tony Watson described the dragonfly genus Apocordulia as appearing different to the normal appearance of a Cordulia dragonfly.[2][8]
The species name macrops is derived from two Greek words makros (μακρός) meaning long, and ops (ὤψ) meaning eye, describing the long eye seam.[2][8]
Gallery
Female Apocordulia macrops wings
Male Apocordulia macrops wings
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Taxonomy
In earlier higher-level classifications, the placement of Apocordulia was uncertain and it was considered incertae sedis within the superfamily Libelluloidea.[9]
A comprehensive phylogenetic revision of emerald and tigertail dragonflies by Goodman et al. (2025) reinstated the family Austrocorduliidae (stat. rev.) and showed that Apocordulia belongs within that family.[3] This replaces earlier treatments that placed Apocordulia variously in Corduliidae or Synthemistidae.[6]
