Anax ephippiger

Vagrant emperor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Aeshnidae
Genus: Anax
Species: A. ephippiger
Binomial name
Anax ephippiger
(Burmeister, 1839)
Synonyms
  • Crytosoma ephippiger Burmeister, 1839[2]
  • Anax mediterranea Selys, 1840
  • Anax senegalensis Rambur, 1842
  • Anax ephippiger Brauer, 1866
  • Hemianax ephippiger Selys, 1883[3]

The vagrant emperor,[3] Anax ephippiger,[4] is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is an obligate Afro-tropical migrant which expands north with the seasonal monsoon fronts. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Recorded in Malta in 1957, and every few years since, it is seen through migration in large numbers. It has never been recorded breeding in the Maltese archipelago.[5][6]

Its natural habitats are shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs. It breeds in shallow tanks and marshes.[7]

A rare long-distance migrant to the British Isles, occasionally seen even in winter.[3]

Classification

In more recent publications the species is usually put in the genus Anax ; but due to the lack of genetic analyses there's still no consensus about its taxonomic placement.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Subramanian, K.A. (2016). "Anax ephippiger". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T59811A72310087. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 3 "Anax ephippiger - Vagrant Emperor". British Dragonfly Society. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "World Odonata List". Slater Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  5. ↑ Sciberras, A.; Sciberras, J.; and Magro D. (2007). A Celebration of Dragonflies. The Malta Independent. November 19, pp.8–9.
  6. ↑ K.A., Subramanian; K.G., Emiliyamma; R., Babu; C., Radhakrishnan; S.S., Talmale (2018). Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India. Zoological Survey of India. pp. 185–186. ISBN 9788181714954.
  7. ↑ C FC Lt. Fraser (1936). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. III. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 147–149.


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