Coastal Petaltail (Petalura litorea)

The Coastal Petaltail (Petalura litorea) is a dragonfly species of the family Petaluridae, which contains 5 species in Australia.

The identification key to the family Petaluridae consists of 4 couplets, 3 of which are pertinent to Petalura litorea. 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.
	Petaluridae	Coastal Petaltail (Petalura litorea)	Petaluridae: Key couplet 1 of 4 ● Pale stripes present on front and sides of thorax b ↑ Petaluridae: Key couplet 2 of 4 ● Abdomen with ill-defined, pale dorsal and lateral longitudinal stripes, and no pale basal or apical rings a ↑ Petaluridae: Key couplet 3 of 4 ○ Very slender ● Only upper rim of anterior frons yellow ● Male superior anal appendages square and rather uniformly dark ● inferior appendage predominantly dark brown ⇒ species: Coastal Petaltail (Petalura litorea) b ↑
1			Petaluridae: Key couplet 1 of 4 ○ Synthorax lacking stripes ⇒ species: Western Petaltail (Petalura hesperia) a ↑ b ↓ ● Pale stripes present on front and sides of thorax
2			Petaluridae: Key couplet 2 of 4 ● Abdomen with ill-defined, pale dorsal and lateral longitudinal stripes, and no pale basal or apical rings a ↑ b ↓ ● Abdominal terga 3-7 with sharply-defined, pale basal and apical rings
3			Petaluridae: Key couplet 3 of 4 ○ Plump ● Approximately upper half of anterior frons yellow ● Male superior anal appendages slightly elongate and with base distinctly black ● inferior appendage predominantly yellow ⇒ species: South-Eastern Petaltail (Petalura gigantea) a ↑ b ↓ ○ Very slender ● Only upper rim of anterior frons yellow ● Male superior anal appendages square and rather uniformly dark ● inferior appendage predominantly dark brown ⇒ species: Coastal Petaltail (Petalura litorea)