The Gray Petaltail (Tachopteryx thoreyi) is a member of an ancient family of dragonflies thought to have changed little since the fossil record. There are two members of the family in the U.S.; the Black Petaltail (Tanypteryx hageni) of the Pacific Northwest and the Gray Petaltail in the eastern U.S. The Gray Petaltail is quite local in Texas, but can be found in a number of eastern counties. The four shots on the top of this page were digital captures with a Canon 10D and EF 70-200 F/2.8 L IS lens and 2X extender and 550 EX flash in Sam Houston National Forest, San Jacinto Co., Texas in late May 2004. The species often perches on tree trunks, but it can be quite opportunistic in perch selection. For example, one is shown here perched on John Ingram's shirt...apparently the petaltail preferred this sunny perch over its original tree trunk which was in the shade. There is also a shot of one perched on a concrete curb around a woodland parking lot.

Illustrating how hard it can be to spot this species, the Gray Petaltail on the left was photographed in May, 2008 at the same spot as the above 4 images. This shot was taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mark III and EF 300 mm F/4 L IS lens and 2X extender.