Hemiphlebia mirabilis
{{Short description|Species of damselfly}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Ancient greenling
| image = Hemiphlebia mirabilis LongSwamp091113-5940.jpg
|image_caption = mating pair
| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
| grandparent_authority = Kennedy, 1920{{Cite journal|last=Kennedy|first=C.H.|year=1920|title=The phylogeny of the Zygopterous dragonflies as based on the evidence of the penes|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3747413|journal=Ohio Journal of Science|volume=21|issue=1|pages=19–29 [25]|via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
| parent_authority = Selys, 1869{{Cite journal|last=Selys-Longchamps|first=E.|year=1869|title=Diagnose d'un nouveau genre d'Agrionine|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12563831|journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique (Comptes-rendus)|language=fr|volume=11|pages=lxxi-lxxiv [lxxii]|via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
| taxon = Hemiphlebia mirabilis
| authority = Selys, 1869{{Cite journal|last=Selys-Longchamps|first=E.|year=1869|title=Diagnose d'un nouveau genre d'Agrionine|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12563832|journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique (Comptes-rendus)|language=fr|volume=11|pages=lxxi-lxxiv [lxxiii]|via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
| range_map = Hemiphlebia mirabilis distribution map.svg
}}
Hemiphlebia mirabilis, commonly known as the ancient greenling, is a species of damselfly, the only living species of the genus Hemiphlebia and the family Hemiphlebiidae.{{cite journal | last1 = Vasilenko | first1 = D. V. | year = 2005 | title = New damselflies (Odonata: Synlestidae, Hemiphlebiidae) from the Mesozoic Transbaikalian locality of Chernovskie Kopi | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238798001 | format = PDF | journal = Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal | volume = 39 | issue = 3| page = 280 }}{{Cite web|url=https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Hemiphlebia_mirabilis|title=Species Hemiphlebia mirabilis Selys, 1869|date=2013|website=Australian Faunal Directory|publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study|access-date=30 March 2017}}
It is very small with a long, metallic-green body and clear wings. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia. Its natural swamp habitat is threatened by habitat loss. The oldest representatives of the family date to the Late Jurassic.
Distribution and habitat
The ancient greenling has been recorded from a small number of scattered sites, including on King Island and in Mount William, Tasmania; in Wilsons Promontory National Park and near Yea, Victoria; and in Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park in south-eastern South Australia. Its recorded habitat includes permanent freshwater ponds, riverine lagoons and swamps that may dry out seasonally. A favoured site discovered in 2008, Long Swamp in the Discovery Bay Coastal Park of south-western Victoria, contains extensive areas of twig-rush (Baumea sp.) which is seasonally flooded but dries out by late summer{{cite web |url=http://photos.rnr.id.au/reports/Hemiphlebia_mirabilis_2010.pdf |title=Discovery of New Populations of Hemiphlebia mirabilis (Ancient Greenling) |access-date=2011-03-26 |first=Reiner |last=Richter |publisher=Author |date=2010-06-18 }}{{cite book|title=The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia|year=2006|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|isbn=0-643-09073-8|author1=Theischinger, Günther |author2=Hawking, John |pages=22}}
Conservation
The greenling's conservation status was raised from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2008 because of the limited area of habitat occupied, as well as the small and scattered character of the populations, at least some of which were in decline.
Gallery
Hemiphlebia mirabilis female wings (33985042264).jpg | Female wings
Hemiphlebia mirabilis male wings (33985048874).jpg | Male wings
References
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Odonata|1}}
{{Taxonbar | from1 = Q4040570 | from2=Q3286015 |from3 = Q306302 }}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Endangered fauna of Australia
Category:Endemic fauna of Australia
Category:Taxa named by Edmond de Sélys Longchamps