Afrotropical and nearctic genera of odonata in the french oligocene: biogeographic and paleoclimatic implications (insecta: Calopterygidae, aeshnidae)

Abstract

New species of the genera Sapho and Epiaeschna are recorded in the Oligocene of Aix- en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Sapho legrandin. sp. is the third fossil representative of this recent African genus and Epiaeschna pseudoherosn. sp. is the fifth fossil species of this recent North American genus. The fossil species Triaeschna gossi from the Eocene of England, Epacantha magnifica from the Late Oligocene of Kazakhstan, and Mediaeschna matutina from the Oligocene of China, are considered species of Epiaeschna and the three fossil genera Triaeschna Campion 1916, Mediaeschna Zhang 1989, and Epacantha Martynov 1929 are synonymized with Epiaeschna. The closely related genera Umma and Sapho inhabit warm humid forests of Western Africa. Their presence in two Oligocene deposits of France supports the hypothesis of a warm humid palaeoenvironment for Armissan (Aude, France), and Aix-en-Provence. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.