[Odonata-l] Best current text on Odonata morphology/taxonomy?

[Richard Rowe]

Bob Reimer wrote:
> I'm just wondering if someone can give me a pointer to the best 
> current text on Odonata morphology and taxonomy before I plow through 
> Tillyard downloaded from Richard Rowe's site?  Is there anything that 
> supercedes that text? 
>  
I wish there was ... but the information is scattered everywhere. My 
Tree of Life site attempts a very shallow introduction.

The Corbet's dragonflies (= 'the Big Book') team intend to produce an 
extended chapter on morphology and biomechanics, but we don't expect 
that magnum opus to be out for 5-7 years.

Taxonomy - on Tree of Life John Trueman & I recommend sitting on 
Watson's modified Fraser/Tillyard system until things settle. We know it 
is wrong but we can at least talk to each other. I see just too many 
mutually contradictory schemes floating about (published in a diversity 
of journals with variable refereeing expertise, self-published, and in 
MS) to feel change would be good. Without inertia we will make dragonfly 
systematics incomprehensible ... Aeshna sensu Bloggs 2001 or Aeshna 
sensu Bloggs 2003? No? Aeshna sensu Smith 1906? Anderson 1935? Freddo 
2007? (authorities are fictitious but you can see my meaning)

John Trueman's article in Zootaxa reviews the history of odonate 
taxonomy and nomenclature.
Trueman, J. W. H. 2007. A brief history of the classification and 
nomenclature of Odonata. Zootaxa 1668:381-394.
(on the web at http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007/zt01668p394.pdf ... 
but we may have a subscription ... )

Wing venation systems are a problem. In Nth America people tend to use 
derivatives of Comstock-Needham, outside Nth America Tillyard-Fraser 
predominates. Riek-Kukolova-Peck has a following and Trueman's system is 
recommended in the Gullan & Cranston textbook. As descriptors each 
system is adequate, but they are based on different assumptions about 
the evolution of the dragonfly wing so are not commensurable,

Richard

-- 
Dr Richard Rowe
Zoology & Tropical Ecology
School of Marine & Tropical Biology
James Cook University
Townsville 4811
AUSTRALIA

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