Epiprocta

Epiprocta, also called Epiproctophora,^[1] is one of the two extant suborders of the Odonata, which contains living dragonflies (Anisoptera), as well as Epiophlebioptera, which has a single known living genus Epiophlebia. Crown group Epiprocta first appeared during the Early Jurassic.^[2] It was proposed in 1992 by Heinrich Lohmann to accommodate the inclusion of the Anisozygoptera. The latter has been shown to be not a natural suborder, but rather a paraphyletic collection of lineages,^[3] so it has been combined with the previous suborder Anisoptera, the well-known dragonflies, into the Epiprocta. The old suborder Anisoptera is proposed to become an infraorder within the Epiprocta, whereas the "anisozygopterans" included here form the infraorder Epiophlebioptera. In Lohmann's original circumscription of the Epiprocta he also included the Tarsophlebiidae in it but Rehn (2003) placed it among the Zygoptera.^[4]

Epiprocta Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Kirby's dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Epiprocta Lohmann, 1996
Infraorders
Epiophlebioptera Anisoptera For extinct groups, see text

Cladogram of Epiprocta after Rehn et al. 2003:^[5]

Odonata	Zygoptera (damselflies) Epiprocta Epiophlebioptera †Isophlebioptera †Heterophlebioptera †Stenophlebioptera †Aeschnidioptera Anisoptera (dragonflies)

Epiproctophora is used as the clade containing all odonatans living and extinct more closely related to living epiproctans than to damselflies.^[6]

Cladogram of Odonata including Epiproctophora by Deregnaucourt et al. 2023.^[6]

Odonata crown group Zygoptera (damselflies) Epiproctophora †Euthemistidae †Selenothemistidae †Archithemistidae †Campterophlebiidae †Isophlebiidae †Sphenophlebiidae †Asiopteridae †Cyclothemistidae †Erichschmidtiidae †Liassostenophlebiidae †Prostenophlebiidae †Stenophlebiidae †Myopophlebiidae †Heterophlebiidae †Liassophlebiidae †Parastenophlebiidae †Juragomphidae †Liassogomphidae †Aeschnidiidae Anisoptera (modern dragonflies)