Systematics of the dragonfly genus Gomphus (Mofopefoluwa Akanni)

Gomphus Leach, 1815 is a genus of clubtail dragonflies in the family Gomphidae, comprising approximately eight North American species. Despite their widespread distribution and ecological importance, the evolutionary relationships within Gomphus have remained poorly resolved. Ware et al. (2017), highlighted the paraphyly of Gomphus sensu lato and suggested the elevation of several North American subgenera, including Arigomphus, Gomphurus, Hylogomphus, and Phanogomphus to genus status. To better understand the phylogenetic placement of species within this genus, we aim to generate a molecular phylogeny using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) data from museum specimens representing all eight species. Our findings aim to provide new insights into the evolutionary history of Gomphus, clarifying species-level relationships and classification and shedding light on historical biogeographic patterns that shaped the diversification of the group. This study contributes to a more stable taxonomy revision for Gomphidae.