Uropetala carovei

Uropetala carovei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Hexapoda
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Epiprocta
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Family: Petaluridae
Genus: Uropetala
Species: U. carovei
Binomial name
Uropetala carovei
(White, 1846)

Uropetala carovei, or New Zealand bush giant dragonfly (kapokapowai in the Māori language), is a giant dragonfly of the family Petaluridae, endemic to New Zealand. The Māori name means "water snatcher" alluding to the water dwelling larva, which, like all dragonflies, has a long extendable jaw that shoots out to snatch prey.

The yellow and black body can be up to 86 mm long, with a wingspan up to 130 mm, making it the largest dragonfly in New Zealand. Males have petal-shaped hind appendages. Its diet is smaller insects, including cicadas. They are preyed on in turn by rats, kingfishers and even wasps.

They are slow and noisy fliers.

The nymphs tunnel into the soft earth of a stream bank or seepage, where they occupy a chamber half-filled with water for about five years. They emerge at night to seek prey near the burrow entrance. They are sensitive to disturbance so are rarely observed.

Uropetala carovei can be distinguished from the similar Uropetala chiltoni by its all-black labrum (outer mouth part cover, lacking the large pale blotch on Uropetala chiltoni) and its brown to yellowish leg femur segment (black in Uropetala chiltoni).[2][3][4] Uropetala chiltoni occurs in the mountains of the South Island.[2]

References

  1. ↑ [IUCN Red List of Threatened Species http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/163559/0]
  2. 1 2 [Uropetala chiltoni Species Description, Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1921 http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_53/rsnz_53_00_004570.html]
  3. ↑ [Uropetala carovei NatureWatch NZ Species Page http://naturewatch.org.nz/taxa/32022-Uropetala-carovei]
  4. ↑ [Uropetala chiltoni NatureWatch NZ Species Page http://naturewatch.org.nz/taxa/32023-Uropetala-chiltoni]
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