Southern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna sagittata)

The Southern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna sagittata) is a dragonfly species of the family Telephlebiidae and Brachytronidae, which contains 37 species in Australia.

The identification key to the family Telephlebiidae and Brachytronidae consists of 37 couplets, 6 of which are pertinent to Notoaeschna sagittata. Click on the numbers on the right to display the corresponding couplets. Or click on the ALLin1 button to see all the relevant couplets together in a single, scrollable window.

#	Family	Species	Couplet No.
	Telephlebiidae and Brachytronidae	Southern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna sagittata)	Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 1 of 37 ● No crossveins in median space b ↑ Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 9 of 37 ○ Wings hyaline ● Two to four, occasionally five, cells in triangles and hypertriangles b ↑ Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 11 of 37 ● Both wings with a single supplementary radial vein (Rspl) ● Posterior angle of hindwing triangle and 1A joined by a short crossvein b ↑ Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 12 of 37 ● Male with five distinct longitudinal dorsal ridges on segment 10 ○ Anal appendages of female at least twice as long as segment 10 (sometimes broken, thus appearing short) ● Supra-anal plate ending in long prominent spine b ↑ Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 35 of 37 ● Top of frons dark brown to black, with pale band running just in front of antenna and eye margin on each side ● Pale abdominal pattern largely consisting of elongate triangular spots along thin, dark midline ⇒ genus: Notoaeschna a ↑ Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 36 of 37 ● Rear of occiput bearing pale, upwardly-directed, thumb-like projection ● Male with segment 10 markedly narrower than preceding segments, and superior anal appendages appearing long, slender ⇒ species: Southern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna sagittata) a ↑
1			Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 1 of 37 ● Crossveins present in median space a ↑ b ↓ ● No crossveins in median space
2			Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 9 of 37 ○ Wings with dark band just behind anterior margin ● Six to twelve cells in triangles and hypertriangles ⇒ genus: Austrophlebia a ↑ b ↓ ○ Wings hyaline ● Two to four, occasionally five, cells in triangles and hypertriangles
3			Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 11 of 37 ● Both wings with two supplementary radial veins (Rspl1 and Rspl2) ● Posterior angle of hindwing triangle meeting 1A ⇒ species: Thylacine Darner (Acanthaeschna victoria) a ↑ b ↓ ● Both wings with a single supplementary radial vein (Rspl) ● Posterior angle of hindwing triangle and 1A joined by a short crossvein
4			Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 12 of 37 ● Male with three or fewer, or without, distinct longitudinal dorsal ridges on segment 10 ○ Anal appendages of female shorter than to slightly longer than segment 10 ● Supra-anal plate rounded to subtriangular ⇒ genus: Austroaeschna and Dromaeschna a ↑ b ↓ ● Male with five distinct longitudinal dorsal ridges on segment 10 ○ Anal appendages of female at least twice as long as segment 10 (sometimes broken, thus appearing short) ● Supra-anal plate ending in long prominent spine
5			Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 35 of 37 ● Top of frons dark brown to black, with pale band running just in front of antenna and eye margin on each side ● Pale abdominal pattern largely consisting of elongate triangular spots along thin, dark midline ⇒ genus: Notoaeschna a ↑ b ↓ ● Top of frons dark brown to black, with a pale oval spot on each side ● Pale abdominal pattern largely consisting of almond-shaped spots, widely separated along midline ⇒ genus: Spinaeschna
6			Telephlebiidae: Key couplet 36 of 37 ● Rear of occiput bearing pale, upwardly-directed, thumb-like projection ● Male with segment 10 markedly narrower than preceding segments, and superior anal appendages appearing long, slender ⇒ species: Southern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna sagittata) a ↑ b ↓ ● Occipital projection small, dark, inconspicuous ● Male with segment 10 as wide as preceding segment, and superior anal appendages short, stout ⇒ species: Northern Riffle Darner (Notoaeschna geminata)