Austrocnemis

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]

The genus Austrocnemis includes the following species:^[6]

• Austrocnemis maccullochi (Tillyard, 1926)
• Austrocnemis obscura Theischinger & Watson, 1991
• Austrocnemis splendida (Martin, 1901)