Common baskettail

{{Short description|Species of dragonfly}} {{Speciesbox | image = Dragonfly_ran-4748_Epitheca_cynosura.jpg | image_caption = Male | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Paulson, D.R. |year=2017 |title=''Epitheca cynosura'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T50970697A65836254 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T50970697A65836254.en |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Epitheca cynosura | authority = (Say, 1839)<ref name="itis">{{ITIS |id=185986 |taxon=''Epitheca cynosura''}}</ref> | synonyms = * ''Tetragoneuria cynosura'' <small>Say, 1839</small><ref name="itis"/> | range_map = North_America_Range_Epitheca_cynosura.svg | range_map_caption = Range of ''E. cynosura''<ref>{{Cite web | title = Distribution Viewer | publisher = OdonataCentral | url = http://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/MapAction.windowed | access-date = 7 December 2009 | archive-date = 3 September 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110903121645/http://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/MapAction.windowed }}</ref> }}

The '''common baskettail''' ('''''Epitheca cynosura''''') is a species of dragonfly in the family Corduliidae.

== Etymology == thumb|left|FemaleThis is the most common baskettail within its range, hence the name. The scientific name, ''cynosura'', means dog tail, and possibly refers to way the cerci at the end of the abdomen curve outward like a dog wagging its tail one way then the other.<ref>{{Cite book | title = A Checklist of North American Odonata | last1 = Paulson | first1 = Dennis R | last2 = Dunkle | first2=Sidney W |date=14 April 2009 | page=50 }}</ref> ==Description== The thorax is brown and hairy. Some specimens have a triangular spot at the base of the hindwing.<ref name="abbott">{{Cite book |title=Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States |last=Abbott |first=John C. |year=2005 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-11364-5 |page=226}}</ref> Individuals are difficult to distinguish from the other species in this genus. The caudal appendages (structures at the tip of the abdomen) differ between the species and can be compared with known drawings or close-up photos.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Notes on ''Epitheca'' | last = Donnelly | first = Nick | publisher = OdonataCentral | url = http://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/PageAction.get/name/OSTHelpWithBaskettails | access-date = 2 December 2009 | archive-date = 27 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110727141713/http://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/PageAction.get/name/OSTHelpWithBaskettails }}</ref> Their flight season can begin as early as January and extends to August. They may also be seen October to December in north Florida.<ref name="dunkle">{{Cite book |title=Dragonflies Through Binoculars|last=Dunkle |first=Sidney W. |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-511268-7 |pages=142–143}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://bugguide.net/node/view/10646 ''Epitheca cynosura''] on BugGuide.Net

Category:Corduliidae Category:Odonata of North America Category:Insects of Canada Category:Insects of the United States Category:Insects described in 1839 Category:Taxa named by Thomas Say