Upright emergence in Petalura gigantea (Odonata: Petaluridae)

Abstract

During the 2003/2004 summer flying season, upright emergence of a male Petalura gigantea was observed and photographed in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales during an extensive survey for the species. This observation differed from the only previous illustration of a hanging back emergence style, and is compared with observations of emergence style for the other Petaluridae. While the earliest accounts illustrated or suggested a hanging back emergence style in P. gigantea, Uropetala chiltoni and Tanypteryx hageni, upright emergence has subsequently been documented in T. pryeri, U. carovei and Tachopteryx thoreyi. The observation of upright emergence in P. gigantea reported in this paper further suggests that upright emergence may be the norm for all petalurids. However, additional observations will be necessary to resolve the question of emergence style within the Petaluridae.

Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, Petaluridae, Petalura gigantea, upright emergence, Blue Mountains, Australia

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