Epiprocta Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Kirby's dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Odonata |
Suborder: | Epiprocta Lohmann, 1996 |
Infraorders | |
Epiprocta is one of the two extant suborders of the Odonata (the order to which dragonflies and damselflies belong). Crown group Epiprocta first appeared during the Early Jurassic.[1] It was proposed relatively recently, having been created to accommodate the inclusion of the Anisozygoptera. The latter has been shown to be not a natural suborder, but rather a paraphyletic collection of lineages,[2][3] so it has been combined with the previous suborder Anisoptera, the well-known dragonflies, into the Epiprocta. The old suborder Anisoptera is proposed to become an infraorder within the Epiprocta, whereas the "anisozygopterans" included here form the infraorder Epiophlebioptera.