Hemianax 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 | |
Hemianax ephippiger, the vagrant emperor, [3] is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. 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.[4]
Its natural habitats are shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs.
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 2 Subramanian, K. (2013). Anax ephippiger. 2013 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 18 September 2013.
- ↑
- 1 2 3 "Anax ephippiger - Vagrant Emperor". British Dragonfly Society. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ↑ Sciberras, A.; Sciberras, J.; and Magro D. (2007). A Celebration of Dragonflies. The Malta Independent. November 19, pp.8–9.