BRIDGES, C.A. (1993): Catalogue of the family-group, genus.group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world (second edition). The Author: Urbana, IL, USA. 806 pp.

Charles A. Bridges, 502 W. Main St., # 308, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
(Price: 105,- $ in North America, 110,- $ elsewhere; including postage)

This second edition of the "Bridges Catalogue" is a hard-bound volume with 806 pages and a beautiful colour plate as frontispiece. The book is well organized, the printing quality is good, the cover and binding are very solid. The only physical shortcoming is the fact that the frontispiece (a postcard with a colour plate) has been glued on a normal paper page; - the strong inside cover would have been better.

This book represents the climax in a row of odonatological taxonomic catalogues (KIRBY, 1890; DAVIES, 1981; DAVIES & TOBIN, 1984, 1985; TSUDA, 1986, 1991 and BRIDGES, 1991). A recent reviewer of this book (COOK, 1993) stated that the content of this publication is best described by quoting directly from the book's abstract. I absolutely agree and thus I am herewith following this procedure:

"Notes on the names of the Odonata, including the related fossil forms, are arranged in a twelve-part catalogue. Part I is an alphabetic list of the Type-Genera of the Family-Group names. Part II is a synonymic list of the Family-Group names. Part III is an alphabetic list of the Genus-Group names, including data on authorship, place of publication, Type-Species, method of type-species designation and position in the classification. Part IV is a synonymic list of the Genus-Group names. Part V is an index to the authors and bibliography of the Genus-Group names. Part VI is an alphabetic index to the Type-Species of the Genus-Group names. Part VII is an alphabetic list of the Species-Group names, including data on authorship, place of publication, type-locality, location of type specimens and classification. Part VIII is a synonymic list of the Species-Group names. Part IX is an index to the authors and bibliography of the Species-Group names. Part X is the bibliography, including information on the author's place and date of birth and death, and on the whereabouts of their collections. Part XI is an index to the bibliography by journal title, including the full titles of the journals and serials, and information on their places and dates of publication. Part XII is an index to the bibliography by year of publication. Appendix I is a list of Genus-Group names that need work. Appendix II is a list of Species-Group names that need work. Appendix III is a list of Bibliographic citations that need work. The arrangement of the names is based entirely on bibliographic references. No specimens have been examined, and no new names are introduced."

The introduction contains statistics concerning Genus-Group names, data on subgenera, Species-Group names, data on subspecies, basic literature, publication dates of Genus-Group and Species-Group names, and museums with type specimens.

The book treats names of 887 genera and 52 subgenera as available and valid, 189 names are considered synonyms, 102 names as available but invalid, and 77 names as unavailable; 5.576 species and 567 subspecies are treated as available and valid, 1.487 species names are considered synonyms, 111 names as available but invalid, and 532 names as unused. The bibliography contains 6.151 citations, published between 1758 and the end of 1992 (and one citation of 1993).

It is self-evident that such a comprehensive compilation of taxonomical data can never be free of minor errors, misprints and omissions, but I could not find any significant shortcomings in this volume. The overall quality of this catalogue is so outstanding that the second edition again is setting a new standard for this kind of taxonomic publications. Beyond that, there is only one further point to say about this book:

Everybody who is seriously working on odonate taxonomy must have his own copy!

BRIDGES, C.A. (1991): Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Odonata of the World (first edition). The Author: Urbana, IL, USA

BRIDGES, C.A. (1993): Catalogue of the family-group, genus.group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world (second edition). The Author: Urbana, IL, USA. 806 pp.

COOK, C. (1993): Literature Reviews. ARGIA, 5(2): 13-14

DAVIES, D.A. (1981): A synopsis of the extant genera of the Odonata. S.I.O. rapid. Comm., No. 3: 59 pp.

DAVIES, D.A. & TOBIN, P. (1984): The dragonflies of the world: A systematic list of the extant species of Odonata. Vol. 1. Zygoptera, Anisozygoptera. S.I.O.: Utrecht. ix + 127 pp.

DAVIES, D.A. & TOBIN, P. (1985): The dragonflies of the world: A systematic list of the extant species of Odonata. Vol. 2. Anisoptera. S.I.O.: Utrecht. xi + 151 pp.

KIRBY, W.F. (1890): A Synonymic catalogue of Neuroptera Odonata, or Dragonflies: with an appendix of fossil species. Gurney & Jackson: London. x + 202 pp.

TSUDA, S. (1986): A Distributional List of World Odonata. Preliminary Edition. The Author: Osaka. viii + 246 pp.

TSUDA, S. (1991): A Distributional List of World Odonata 1991. The Author: Osaka. 8 + 362 pp.

CARPENTER, F. (1992): Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part R. Arthropoda. Vol. 4(3) and 4(4). Superclass Hexapoda. Geol. Soc. of Amer. & Univ. of Kansas: Boulder, CO & Lawrence, KS. 655 pp.

Geological Society Publishing House,
Unit 7 Brassmill Enterprise Center, Brassmill Lane
Bath BA1 3JN / UNITED KINGDOM
(Price: 63,- £, including postage)

The two hard-bound volumes together have 655 pages, 265 figure-plates and 2 tables. The printing quality is quite good, although the illustrations often are a little bit small; cover and binding are solid and of good quality.

Volume 4(3) is containing an introduction to the insects and the chapters on apterygotes and all hemimetabolous pterygotes. Volume 4(4) is containing the chapters on holometabolous pterygotes, a good table on the stratigraphic distribution of hexapods (21 pp.), a little glossary (3 pp.), a comprehensive references-section (87 pp.) and a taxonomical index. Because of the special scope of this journal my review has been restricted to the chapters on protodonates and odonates (4(3): 59-92).

Not unlike many other palaeontologists Carpenter is using a more or less typological approach to biological classification. Nevertheless this had to be expected and is no major problem as long as one keeps in mind, that the taxa used in this book do not necessarily represent natural entities. Several taxa, e.g. Palaeoptera, Protodonata, Anisozygoptera and maybe also Zygoptera, have to be regarded as paraphyletic. Unfortunately this publication is also containing numerous erreneous or at least very dubious taxonomic decisions: e.g. there is no reason to classify Erasipteron as Palaeoptera incertae sedis, since this fossil clearly belongs to the Odonata (sensu BRAUCKMANN & ZESSIN, 1989). Triadotypus is not sharing any significant apomorphic characters with the Triadophlebiomorpha and seems to be closer to "meganeurids" (BRAUCKMANN & ZESSIN, 1989). Epiophlebia is definitely not an anisoptere! It is very unfortunate that Carpenter is perpetuating this ill-founded hypothesis of Pritykina. Since ASAHINA (1954) it seems obvious that Epiophlebia is the extant sistergroup of the Anisoptera; but many fossil "anisozygopteres" are much closer to the Anisoptera than is Epiophlebia. Most recently this was again confirmed by the study of NEL et al. (1993). If Epiophlebia would be classified as anisoptere, than all other "anisozyopteres" would have to be classified as anisopteres too. Leptaeschnidium is not an aeshnid but an aeshnidiid (probably only a lapse). The six petalurid genera mentioned by Carpenter, are more probably stemgroup representatives of the Neopetaliidae & Aeshnidae. My own results (BECHLY, unpubl.) do suggest that, although petalurids definitely are the most plesiomorphous anisopterids, there are no true fossil petalurids at all, contrary to the common believe that petalurids have been the dominant group of mesozoic dragonflies. Notwithstanding the fact that a terminal date for literature citations had to be set (here: end of 1983), it seems quite unacceptable that a palaeoentomological book published in 1992 is not even mentioning the revolutionary new wing-venational system of RIEK & KUKALOVA-PECK (1984)! Since Eugeropteron and Geropteron have been described in the same publication, these two most "primitive" odonates hitherto ...

discovered are not considered in this publication either. But those who want to have an "up to date" catalogue of fossil dragonflies have to buy the odonatological catalogue of BRIDGES (1992) anyway.

Considering the numerous shortcomings, omissions and faults, in spite of more than twenty years of preparation (!), the obvious question arises: haven't times passed away were such monumental works can be handeled by one author alone? I am convinced that the result would have been more impressing if Frank Carpenter would have only acted as editor and author of one or two chapters, while the other chapters would have been co-authored, or at least reviewed, by specialists of the respective taxonomic groups. If you should be generally interested in palaeoentomology these two volumes are a good bargain and you should seriously consider to buy them. In spite of the shortcomings, you will get a unique, comprehensive and well illustrated summary on fossil insects, which is an excellent "supplement" to HANDLIRSCH (1906-1908), HENNIG (1991) and ROHDENDORF (1992). But if you should be especially interested in fossil odonates you better spend your money for the two other books that have been reviewed in this journal (BRIDGES, 1993; NEL et al., 1993). The most useful parts of this publication are the extensive bibliography (in vol. 4, p. 529-615) and the numerous illustrations of fossil dragonfly wings. Although these illustrations are reproduced rather small, they are still worth the effort to get a xerox-copy of the chapters on protodonates and odonates (vol. 3, p. 59-92).

ASAHINA, S. (1954): A morphological study of a relict Dragonfly Epiophlebia superstes Selys (Odonata, Anisozygoptera). Jap. Soc. Prom. Sci., Tokyo. 153 pp.

BRAUCKMANN, C. & ZESSIN, W. (1989): Neue Meganeuridae aus dem Namurium von Hagen-Vorhalle (BRD) und die Phylogenie der Meganisoptera (Insecta, Odonata). Dtsch. ent. Z., N.F. 36(1-3): 177-215

BRIDGES, C.A. (1993): Catalogue of the family-group, genus.group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world (second edition). The Author: Urbana, IL, USA. 806 pp.

HANDLIRSCH, A. (1906-1908): Die fossilen Insekten und die Phylogenie der rezenten Formen. Engelmann: Leipzig. ix + 640 pp., 36 pls.

HENNIG, W. (1981): Insect phylogeny. Wiley: Chichester / New York / Brisbane / Toronto. 514 pp.

NEL, A. & MARTINEZ-DELCLOS, X. & PAICHELER, J.-C. & HENROTAY, M. (1993): Les "Anisozygoptera" fossiles - Phylogénie et classification (Odonata). Martinia, Numéro hors-série 3, juin 1993. S.F.O.: Bois-d'Arcy, France. 311 pp.

PRITYKINA, L.N. (1980): Otryad Libellulida Laicharting, 1781. IN: ROHDENDORF, B.B. & RASNITSYN, A.P. (eds.): Istoricheskoe razvitie klassa nasekomykh. Trudy paleont. inst. akad. nauk SSSR, 175: 128-134, text-fig. 67-69

PRITYKINA, L.N. (1981): Novye triasovye strekozy srednej Azii. IN: VISHNIAKOVA, V.N. & DLUSSKY, G.M. & PRITYKINA, L.N.: Novye iskopaemye nasekomye s Territorii SSSR. Trudy paleont. inst. akad. nauk SSSR, 183: 5-42, text-fig. 1-29, pl. 1-13

RIEK, E.F. & KUKALOVA-PECK, J. (1984): A new interpretation of dragonfly wing venation based upon Ealy Upper Carboniferous fossils from Argentina (Insecta: Odonatoidea) and basic character states in pterygote wings. Can. J. Zool., 62(6): 1150-1166

ROHDENDORF, B.B. ed. (1992): Fundamentals of Paleontology. Vol. 9 (Arthropoda, Tracheata). (english translation of the original edition from 1962 in russian)

NEL, A. & MARTINEZ-DELCLOS, X. & PAICHELER, J.-C. & HENROTAY, M. (1993): Les "Anisozygoptera" fossiles - Phylogénie et classification (Odonata). Martinia, Numéro hors-série 3, juin 1993. S.F.O.: Bois-d'Arcy, France. 311 pp.

Société Francaise d'Odonatologie (S.F.O.),
7, rue Lamartine, F-78390 Bois-d'Arcy / FRANCE
(Price: 320,- FF)

This paperback volume has 311 pages with 244 figures (239 line-drawings, 5 b.&w. photos), 6 tables and 6 cladograms. The overall printing quality is pretty good, the only physical shortcoming of this book is its very weak cover and binding. The text is in french; figure legends are bilingual (french and english) and the summary is trilingual (french, english and spanish).

This work is a revision and cladistic study on one of the most important groups of fossil dragonflies: the "Anisozygoptera". Ironically it might also be the last one, since there can be no doubt that this group is highly paraphyletic and therefor has to be eliminated as taxon from any modern phylogenetic system of odonates. The realization that "Anisozygoptera" is not a taxon but only a practical term like "Invertebrates", is one of the most important lessons from this extraordinary book, which is shurely one of the major highlights of this year's odonatological literature. A lot of new characters are described within this study. Particulary interesting is the extensive use of nodal morphology as source of characters. Some of those characters will be of considerable importance for future studies, but others will probably be rejected. Heinrich Lohmann informed me that the nodal character that has been used as basic synapomorphy for the Epiophlebioidea is very doubtful. Anyway this phylogenetic study is definitely falsifying the hypothesis of Pritykina (perpetuated by CARPENTER, 1992), that Epiophlebia is an anisoptere. Many fossil "anisozygopteres" are much closer to the Anisoptera than Epiophlebia. Those who still would like to classify Epiophlebia as anisoptere in the future, will face the fatal consequence, that they have to synonymize the total Anisozygoptera with Anisoptera.

Fortunately the authors decided to follow the venational system of Riek & Kukalova-Peck (1984), which has the highest explanatory power of all the systems that have been suggested up to now. The authors also introduce the following supplementary homologizations:

a) The "discal brace" (sensu Carle) is interpreted as CuA.
b) The upper side of the anisopteroid triangle is interpreted as MP1, which is originating by a furcation of the MP+CuA.
c) The distal side of the triangle is interpreted as MA2, originating by a furcation of the MA.

While the first of these interpretations has a lot to recommend it, I think that the latter two will not and should not be used in future studies. Not only because these interpretations seem to be rather doubtful and improbable, but because this way of homologization is at odds with the methods of phylogenetic systematics, and incompatible with the used venational system. Nel et al. came to their conclusions because of morphological properties of the respective veins, that (according to the authors) are indicating their status as principle veins, rather than as intercalated veins or crossveins. Irrespective of the problematical nature of the used criteria, the homologisation is not justified out of methodological reasons. In his review of the concepts of homology, PINNA (1991) stated that homology is conjectured by similarity and tested by congruence, using the principle of parsimony ("Ockham's razor"); therefor there do not exist any a priori criteria to recognize homology. According to HENNIG (1984: 310) there are two principles for the naming of biological structures: the "principle of analogy", that is based entirely on shared holomorphological properties of these structures, and the "principle of homology", that is based on the presumed inheritance of this structure from the common ancestor of all taxa that do possess this structure. Nel et al., probably without intention, followed this typological approach of the "principle of analogy", e.g. when they decided to use the term "MA2" for the distal side of the triangle. Since MA, according to Kukalova-Peck, is one of the 16 principle longitudinal veins, that are present in the groundplan of the insect-wing, the term MA2 only makes sense within the framework of this system if it refers to a bifurcation of the MA in the groundplan of the Pterygota. But the respective vein is not even belonging to the groundplan of modern odonates, therefor the distal side of the triangle has to be regarded as secondary branch of the MA at best, but more probably as simple crossvein. Even if this vein would indeed be a secondary branch of the MA, the term MA2 should be avoided, because such secondary branchings may occur convergently in many different pterygote taxa, and using the same term for them could inspire an errenous believe in homology. Thus the definition of principal veins should be: principle veins are all those longitudinal veins and branches of such veins, that are pertaining to the pterygote groundplan, and that are consequently homologous in all pterygotes in which they are present. The terms of the Riek & Kukalova-Peck system should only be used for these principle veins, not for secondary branchings, that have originated in some subordinated taxa of Pterygota.

One of the few important shortcomings of this phylogenetic study is that the sistergroup of the "Anisozygortera" & Anisoptera has not been determined. Consequently the polarity of many characters is more or less a question of arbritary choice between different possible historical narratives concerning the evolution of dragonflies. Nel et al. are following a somewhat traditional approach in that they seem to assume a zygopteroid groundplan for the most recent common ancestor of all modern odonates, just like FRASER (1957) did before. Consequently they have to regard the presence of more than two antenodal crossveins and a median position of the nodus as apomorphic characterstates. Nevertheless an outgroup-comparison, using the meganeurid grade (incl. Triadophlebiomorpha) as outgroup, clearly favours an anisozygopteroid-like ancestor and therefor an opposite polarity. One of the most important questions for future research definitely is the reconstruction of the groundplan of odonate wing-venation and the question if the Zygoptera are monophyletic (sensu Hennig) or paraphyletic in regard of the "Anisozygoptera" & Anisoptera. As long as well founded hypotheses for these fundamental problems are lacking, any phylogenetic studies within the Odonata will only have a somewhat limited and preliminary value. Although Nel et al. are persuming that the Zygoptera might be paraphyletic or even polyphyletic, they are mentioning a quite interesting new character, that could be regarded as a potential synapomorphy for the extant zygopteres. The mentioned character is the obliteration of the head-sutures between frons and vertex, and between vertex and occiput. This character can be observed in all representatives of the Coenagrionoidea and Calopterygoidea indeed, but "unfortunately" the suture between vertex and occiput is clearly present in Chlorolestes (furthermore the suture between frons and vertex seems to be also present in chlorocyphids, according to Lohmann pers. comm.).

Notwithstanding the few mentioned shortcomings, this book is an excellent and very important phylogenetic study, which is representing the most comprehensive cladistic study on odonates hitherto published. Nobody who is seriously interested in "anisozygopteres", fossil dragonflies or general odonate phylogeny can afford not to have this book on his shelf. Probably it will be t h e standard work on this subject for many years to come. Even if you are not very familiar with the french language you should consider to buy this book, because its numerous illustrations are an invaluable source of information.

CARPENTER, F. (1992): Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part R. Arthropoda. Vol. 4(3) and 4(4). Superclass Hexapoda. Geol. Soc. of Amer. & Univ. of Kansas: Boulder, CO & Lawrence, KS. 655 pp.

FRASER, F.C. (1957): A reclassification of the order Odonata. Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales (Australia). 133 pp.

HENNIG, W. (1984): Taschenbuch der speziellen Zoologie Teil 1: Wirbellose I Ausgenommen Gliedertiere. Harri Deutsch: Thun, Frankfurt a.M.. 392 pp.

PINNA, M.C.C. de (1991): Concepts and Tests of Homology in the Cladistic Paradigm. CLADISTICS, 7(4): 367-394

PRITYKINA, L.N. (1981): Novye triasovye strekozy srednej Azii. IN: VISHNIAKOVA, V.N. & DLUSSKY, G.M. & PRITYKINA, L.N.: Novye iskopaemye nasekomye s Territorii SSSR. Trudy paleont. inst. akad. nauk SSSR, 183: 5-42, text-fig. 1-29, pl. 1-13

RIEK, E.F. & KUKALOVA-PECK, J. (1984): A new interpretation of dragonfly wing venation based upon Ealy Upper Carboniferous fossils from Argentina (Insecta: Odonatoidea) and basic character states in pterygote wings. Can. J. Zool., 62(6): 1150-1166

SEIDENBUSCH, R. (1995): Westpalaearctic Odonata and their Larval Skins - Westpaläarktische Libellen und ihre Larvenhäute.

Extent: 2 volumes, threadsewn, hardcovered with gold stamping, and a laminated box for housing; with more than 1.000 pages of colour illustrations (more than 10.000 colour photos !!!) and about 200 pages of additional information. The book treats 190 species and subspecies of westpalaearctic odonates, imagines as well as exuviae. The text includes a systematic list, keys, distribution maps, many pictures of habitats, informations concerning general and specific morphology, and the ecology of the genera. BILINGUAL: English / German

Edition: 3.000 copies

Delivery: Spring 1995

Sales Price: DM 428,- / US-$ 285,- (add. mailing)

Subscription Price: DM 299,- / US-$ 199,-

Subscription: Orders processed before July 30., 1994 will receive a discount of 30% on the final sales price. Subscription orders (on pre-account) have to be sent to:

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