Elegant wiretail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Elegant wiretail |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Isostictidae |
| Genus: | Oristicta |
| Species: |
O. rosendaleorum
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| Binomial name | |
| Oristicta rosendaleorum Theischinger & Burwell, 2017
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The elegant wiretail (scientific name: Oristicta rosendaleorum) is a type of damselfly. Damselflies are delicate insects that look a lot like dragonflies. This particular species belongs to the family called Isostictidae.
Scientists Günther Theischinger and Chris Burwell officially described this damselfly in 2017. Before that, only one other species was known in its group, the Oristicta genus. Now, the elegant wiretail has joined that group!
What Does the Elegant Wiretail Look Like?
The elegant wiretail is a medium-sized damselfly. It has a slender body and is not brightly colored. It usually grows to be about 42 millimeters (about 1.6 inches) long. Its back wings are around 21 millimeters (about 0.8 inches) long.
This damselfly has some special features. It has more black markings on its body compared to its close relative, Oristicta filicicola. The patterns on its chest area and body segments are also different. Male elegant wiretails do not have certain small horn-like bumps on their neck area. Their tail parts also look different.
Where Can You Find the Elegant Wiretail?
As of 2017, scientists have found a few of these damselflies. All of them were collected in north-eastern Australia. They were found in two places near a town called Lakeland, Queensland. These locations were both within 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) of Lakeland.
