Tanypteryx hageni

(Selys, 1879)

Black Petaltail

Tanypteryx hageni, the black petaltail, is a rare in the Petaluridae and one of only two members of the Tanypteryx. It represents a phylogenetically ancient lineage that diverged from its Japanese sister species T. pryeri approximately 70-73 million years ago, making it a 'living fossil' among dragonflies. The species is a restricted to montane fen environments in the Pacific Northwest of North America, where nymphs construct and inhabit water-filled burrows—a unique strategy shared with other petaltail species but uncommon among dragonflies generally.

Tanypteryx hageni by the Smithsonian. Used under a CC0 license.

Black Petaltail - Tanypteryx hageni, Butterfly Valley Botanical Area, Quincy, California - 19346116876 by Judy Gallagher. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Tanypteryx hageni: /ˌtænɪpˈtɛrɪks ˈhɑːdʒəni/

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Images

Habitat

Montane fen ; nymphs exclusively inhabit groundwater-driven wetlands characterized by soils saturated by groundwater, commonly found around springs and in riparian areas of headwater streams. Nymphs dig and maintain burrows that fill with water.

Distribution

Pacific Northwest of North America, from California to British Columbia. The sister Tanypteryx pryeri occurs in Japan; the trans-Pacific disjunction likely associated with disappearance of the Beringian land bridge in the late Cretaceous.

Life Cycle

Nymphal stage spent exclusively in fen ; nymphs collected from burrows near Cherry Hill Campground in Lassen National Forest, California in fall 2020. Duration of nymphal development and details of not documented in available sources.

Behavior

Nymphs dig and maintain burrows that fill with water—a displayed by a number of other petaltail but uncommon in the vast majority of .

Ecological Role

Fen ; fens contain high proportion of North American biodiversity including 15-20% of rare and uncommon plant in some national forests, and are the most floristically diverse wetlands in the United States. Specific trophic role not documented.

Human Relevance

Subject of conservation research; first non-libelluloid to have a -length assembly (2022), which may facilitate research on and support conservation efforts for this rare .

Similar Taxa

Tanypteryx pryeriSister found in Japan; separated by ~70-73 million years of divergence; the only other member of the Tanypteryx
Other Petaluridae (petaltail dragonflies)Share the distinctive nymphal of burrow-digging in wet ; -level trait distinguishes them from most other families

More Details

Genomic significance

First assembly for any non-libelluloid ; -length assembly of 1.68 Gbp with scaffold N50 of 206.6 Mb and 96.2-96.8% single-copy BUSCO completeness, making it one of the highest quality Odonata genomes produced to date.

Evolutionary history

Diverged from sister T. pryeri over 70 million years ago and separated from the most closely related Odonata with a reference (likely a libelluloid) approximately 150 million years ago.