Hemiphlebia mirabilis, the Ancient Greenling, is a species of damselfly

Damselfly

Damselflies are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest...

 in family Hemiphlebiidae. It is very small with a long, metallic green body and clear wings. It is the only member of its genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 and family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Its natural swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

 habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is threatened by habitat loss.

Distribution and habitat

The Ancient Greenling has been recorded from a small number of scattered sites, including on King Island and in Mount William

Mount William National Park

Mount William is a national park in Tasmania , 234 km northeast of Hobart....

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

; in Wilsons Promontory National Park

Wilsons Promontory National Park

Wilsons Promontory National Park, commonly known as Wilsons Prom or The Prom, is a national park in the Gippsland region of Victoria , 157 km southeast of Melbourne....

 and near Yea

Yea, Victoria

Yea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway, and above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.- History :The...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

; and in Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park

Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park

Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park is a 543 ha protected area in south-eastern South Australia. It adjoins Discovery Bay on South Australia’s Limestone Coast and conserves a wetland fed by freshwater springs in a karst landscape. It is well known as a site for cave diving and snorkeling. It is...

 in south-eastern South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. Its recorded habitat includes permanent freshwater ponds, riverine lagoons and swamps that may dry out seasonally. A favoured site discovered in 2008, Long Swamp in the Discovery Bay Coastal Park

Discovery Bay Coastal Park

Discovery Bay Coastal Park is a 104.6 km2 linear protected area of coastal land in western Victoria, south-eastern Australia. It extends along the coast of Discovery Bay from Cape Nelson north-westwards for 50 km to the border with South Australia. It lies within the traditional lands...

 of south-western Victoria, contains extensive areas of twig-rush (Baumea

Baumea

Baumea is a genus of the sedge family, which includes around 30 species native to Madagascar and the Pacific Islands, with 15 species in Australia. All are perennial rhizomatous herbs, with leaves and stems very similar in appearance. The inflorescence is terminal, with the flowers tightly...

sp.) which is seasonally flooded but dries out by late summer.

Conservation

The Greenling's conservation status was raised from Vulnerable

Vulnerable species

On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...

 to Endangered in 2008 because of the limited area of habitat occupied, as well as the small and scattered character of the populations, at least some of which were in decline.

Sources

• Hawking, J. (2008). Hemiphlebia mirabilis. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. . Downloaded on 25 March 2011.
• Odonata Specialist Group 1996. Hemiphlebia mirabilis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 August 2007.