Anax (from Ancient Greek ἄναξ anax, "lord, master, king") is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae. It includes species such as the emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator.
Species of Anax are very large dragonflies. They generally have light-colored bodies and dark tails with pale markings.
Some species are migratory, for example Anax junius.
Contents
Species
The genus Anax includes these species:
Anax amazili (Burmeister, 1839) – Amazon darner
Anax aurantiacus Makbun, Wongkamhaeng & Keetapithchayakul, 2022
Anax bangweuluensis Kimmins, 1955 – swamp emperor
Anax chloromelas Ris, 1911 – dark emperor
Anax concolor Brauer, 1865 – blue-spotted comet darner
Anax congoliath Fraser, 1953
Anax ephippiger (Burmeister, 1839) – vagrant emperor
Anax fumosus Hagen, 1867
Anax georgius Selys, 1872 – Kimberley emperor
Anax gladiator Dijkstra & Kipping, 2015 – swordbearer emperor
Anax gibbosulus Rambur, 1842 – green emperor
Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839) – lesser green emperor
Anax immaculifrons Rambur, 1842 – magnificent emperor
Anax imperator Leach, 1815 – emperor dragonfly, blue emperor
Anax indicus Lieftinck, 1942 – elephant emperor
Anax junius (Drury, 1773) – common green darner
Anax longipes Hagen, 1861 – comet darner
Anax maclachlani Förster, 1898
Anax mandrakae Gauthier, 1988
Anax nigrofasciatus Oguma, 1915 – blue-spotted emperor
Anax panybeus Hagen, 1867
Anax papuensis Burmeister, 1839 – Australian emperor
Anax parthenope (Selys, 1839) – lesser emperor
Anax piraticus Kennedy, 1934
Anax pugnax Lieftinck, 1942
Anax rutherfordi McLachlan, 1883
Anax selysi Förster, 1900
Anax speratus Hagen, 1867 – orange emperor
Anax strenuus Hagen, 1867 – giant Hawaiian darner, pinao
Anax tristis Hagen, 1867 – black emperor, magnificent emperor
Anax tumorifer McLachlan, 1885
Anax walsinghami McLachlan, 1882 – giant darner
A single fossil species, †Anax cryptus Gentilini & Peters, 1993 is known from the Late Miocene of Italy.
Taxonomic history
The genus Anax was described by William Elford Leach in 1815 when he published the first bibliography of entomology in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopedia.