Tarsophlebiidae
| Tarsophlebiidae Temporal range: Upper Jurassic - Lower Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
| Tarsophlebia eximia, Upper Jurassic, Solnhofen Plattenkalk | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | †Tarsophlebioptera |
| Family: | †Tarsophlebiidae Handlirsch, 1906 |
| Type genus | |
| Tarsophlebia Hagen, 1866 | |
| Genera | |
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The Tarsophlebiidae is an extinct family of medium-sized fossil odonates from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous period of Eurasia. They are either the most basal member of the damsel-dragonfly grade ("anisozygopteres") within the stem group of Anisoptera, or the sister group of all Recent odonates. They are characterized by the basally open discoidal cell in both pairs of wings, very long legs, paddle-shaped male cerci, and a hypertrophied ovipositor in females.