Telephlebiidae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Telephlebiidae |
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| Austroaeschna inermis | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Superfamily: | Aeshnoidea |
| Family: | Telephlebiidae Cockerell, 1913 |
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Telephlebiidae is a group, or family, of large dragonflies found only in Australia. These amazing insects are endemic to eastern and south-western Australia, meaning they live naturally nowhere else in the world! You can usually find them flying near streams and rivers.
About Telephlebiidae Dragonflies
Telephlebiidae dragonflies are known for their medium to very large size. They are often seen around water, which is where they hunt for other insects to eat.
How Scientists Classify Them
The world of science sometimes has different ideas about how to group animals. For a long time, Telephlebiidae was considered its own special family of dragonflies. However, some scientists now believe that these dragonflies are actually part of a larger family called Aeshnidae. This is like saying a specific type of apple is just a kind of fruit, but others say it's a specific kind of apple. This difference in opinion is normal in science as new discoveries are made!
Types of Telephlebiidae Dragonflies
Within the Telephlebiidae family, there are different groups called genera (plural of genus). Each genus contains one or more types of these dragonflies. Here are some of the genera in this family:
- Acanthaeschna Selys, 1883
- Antipodophlebia Fraser, 1960
- Austroaeschna Selys, 1883
- Austrophlebia Tillyard, 1916
- Dromaeschna Förster, 1908
- Notoaeschna Tillyard, 1916
- Spinaeschna Theischinger, 1982
- Telephlebia Selys, 1883
