Talk:Cephalozygoptera

Disputed taxonomy

Cephalozygoptera was proposed by Archibald et al., 2021 based on a series of new fossils from Western North America and restudy of Paleogene fossil odonates. Structure of the head capsule and notably the distance between the eyes along with certain wing characters were used as the defining traits. This conclusion has been disputed by Nel who puts forth the argument that the heads ae deformed due to taphonomic action during fossilization.

Supporting Cephalozygoptera

• Archibald, S.B., Cannings, R.A., Erickson, R.J., Bybee, S.M. & Mathewes, R.W. 2021. The Cephalozygoptera, a new, extinct suborder of Odonata with new taxa from the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands, western North America. Zootaxa 4934(1): 1–133. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4934.1.1 . Reference page. 
• Archibald, S.B. & Cannings, R.A. 2021. The head of Cephalozygoptera (Odonata). Zootaxa 5047(1): 97–100. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5047.1.10. ISSN 1175-5326.  Reference page. 
• Simonsen, T.J., Archibald, S.B., Rasmussen, J.A., Sylvestersen, R.L., Olsen, K. & Ware, J.L. 2022. Danowhetaksa gen. nov. with two species from the early Eocene Ølst Formation from Denmark, the first Palearctic Whetwhetaksidae (Odonata: Cephalozygoptera). Zootaxa 5099(5): 586–592. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5099.5.5. PMID 35391395.  Reference page. 
• Archibald, S. B., & Cannings, R. A. (2022). The first odonata from the early Eocene Allenby Formation of the Okanagan Highlands, British Columbia, Canada (anisoptera, aeshnidae and cf. cephalozygoptera, dysagrionidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 154(1), e29.
• Archibald, S. B., & Cannings, R. A. (2024). Three new Odonata species (cf. Cephalozygoptera and cf. Dysagrionidae) from the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands of British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, United States of America. The Canadian Entomologist, 156, e35.
• Archibald, S. B., Ware, J. L., Rasmussen, J. A., Sylvestersen, R. L., Olsen, K., & Simonsen, T. J. (2023). The damselfly genus Furagrion Petrulevičius et al.(Odonata, Zygoptera) from the early Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark and the dysagrionoid grade. Zootaxa, 5278(2), 289-317.
• Simonsen, T.J.; Archibald, S.B.; Rasmussen, J.A.; Sylvestersen, R.L.; Olsen, K.; Ware, J.L. 2024. Stolleagrion foghnielseni (Odonata, Cephalozygoptera, Dysagrionidae) gen. et sp. nov.: a new odonatan from the PETM recovery phase of the earliest Ypresian Fur Formation, Denmark. Zootaxa 5415(3): 493–498. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5415.3.9. ISSN 1175-5326.  Reference page. 
• Ware, J.L., Simonsen, T.J., Rasmussen, J.A. & Archibald, S.B. 2025. Systematics of the extinct suborder Cephalozygoptera (Odonata): a wing-based analysis comparing its genera with those of extant Zygoptera. American Museum Novitates 4043: 1–19. doi:10.1206/4043.1. ISSN 0003-0082.  [pdf] Reference page. 

Disputing Cephalozygoptera

• Nel, A. & Zheng, D. 2021. The recently proposed odonatan ‘suborder’ Cephalozygoptera: fact or fiction. Palaeoentomology 4(2): 165-170. doi:10.11646/palaeoentomology.4.2.5. ISSN 2624-2826.  Reference page. 
• Nel, A. & Jouault, C. 2022. The odonatan insects from the Paleocene of Menat, central France. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 67(3): 631-648. doi:10.4202/app.00960.2021. ISSN 0567-7920.  Reference page. 
• Wang, Y.H.; Nel, A.; Cai, C.Y.; Fu, Y.Z.; Liu, Q.; Zeng, G.; Lian, X.; Huang, D.Y. 2025. New insect assemblage from the early Oligocene in Ningming Basin, Guangxi, China. Zootaxa 5739(1): 21–35. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5739.1.6. ISSN 1175-5326.  Reference page.  Kevmin (talk) 18:47, 1 January 2026 (UTC)