BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Tanypteryx hageni
Black Petaltail
| Scientific Name: | Tanypteryx hageni (Selys, 1879) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Black Petaltail | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Paulson, D.R. and S.W. Dunkle. 1999. A checklist of North American Odonata. Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound Occasional Paper, 56: 86 pp. Available: http://www.ups.edu/x7015.xml. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | OD-TANHAG | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Oct 2000) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2S3 (Mar 2023) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 3 - Sensitive (2005) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | Black with small yellow spots and widely separated eyes. Female has ovipositor with blades that reach end of abdomen. Larva has evenly tapered 6-segmented antennae. (Needham & Westfall, 1955, Walker, 1958) | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | Needs water percolating through bog. Tall trees too near a bog might shade it most of the day, preventing ovipositing, or prolong its snowpack to late in season. Brush advances into the bog over time, eliminating habitat. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N / N / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Population genetics studies in Nevada (J. Simpkin, pers. comm.) indicate that odonates of dry regions such as the Great Basin may have very great dispersal potential, but whether this model fits for T. HAGENI because of the great distances between some of its EOs is impossible to determine at present. Dragonflies of the family Gomphidae, which may have similarly stringent requirements for larval habitat, have relatively poor dispersal abilities among dragonflies, so it is possible that T. HAGENI fits the gomphid dispersal model. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Other Unique Habitats / Vernal Pools/Seasonal Seeps / Obligate
Stream/River / Stream/River / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Bog / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Fen / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Marsh / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Swamp / Facultative - occasional use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Found in seepage areas and bogs, flat or on hillsides, often associated with streams and usually not under forest canopy in wet mountain ranges. The eggs are laid in the soil of bog, larvae in burrows opening above water, adults forage along sunny forest edges. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Larvae eat terrestrial invertebrates such as spiders. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult
Nocturnal:Immature |
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| Global Phenology Comments: | Larvae overwinter, probably several years to maturity. Flight season early June to late August, at maturity return on sunny days to bog when temperature is above 21 deg C (Clement & Meyer, 1980). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 5.5/ 7.5/ | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Lowlands of southwestern British Columbia (includes Vancouver Island), south with increasing elevation to mountains of central California. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Jan 17, 1991 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Tanypteryx hageni in Royal British Columbia Museum and the Spencer Entomological Museum. 2004ai. Odonata distribution maps based on data from the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Spencer Entomological Museum. Produced by Clover Point Cartographics for the Royal British Columbia Museum and Conservation Data Centre, Victoria, BC. |
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Cannings, R.A. 2002b. Introducing the dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon. Royal B.C. Mus., Victoria, BC. 96pp. |
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Cannings, R.A., 1978. The distribution of TANYPTERYX HAGENI (Odonata:Petaluridae) in British Columbia. J. Ent. Soc. B.C.75:18-19. |
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Clement, S.L., and R.P. Meyer. 1980. Adult biology and behavior of the dragonfly TANYPTERYX HAGENI (Odonata: Petaluridae). J. Kansas Ent. Soc. 53(4):711-719. |
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Needham, J.G. and M.J. Westfall, Jr. 1954. A Manual of the Dragonflies of North America (Anisoptera). University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 615 pp. |
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Ramsay, L.R., and S.G. Cannings. 2000. Dragonflies at Risk in British Columbia. Pp. 89-92 in L.M. Darling, ed. 2000. Proc. Conf. on the Biology and Manage. Species and Habitats at Risk, Kamloops, B.C., 15 - 19 Feb., 1999. Vol. 1; B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC, and Univ. College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, BC. 490pp. |
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Svihla, A. 1959. Life History of TANYPTERYX HAGENI Seyls (Odonata). Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 85:219-232. |
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Svihla, A. 1960. Emergence and transformation of TANYPTERYX HAGENI Selys (Odonata). Ent. News 61(5):131-135. |
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Svihla, A. 1975. (1) Another locality of the larvae of TANYPTERYX HAGENI Selys in Washington. and (2) Adverse factors affecting the distribution of TANYPTERYX HAGENI Selys. Tombo 18(1-4):43-45. |
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Svihla, A. 1984. Notes on the habits of TANYPTERYX HAGENI Selys in the Olympic Mountains, Washington, U.S.A. Tombo 27(1-4):23-25. |
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Walker, E.M. 1958. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska. Vol 2. The Anisoptera-four families. Univ. Toronto Press 318 pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1991. Species Summary: Tanypteryx hageni. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).