Bad-smelling Alkanet vs Common Baskettail

Alkanna maleolens compared with Epitheca cynosura

Key Differences

• Bad-smelling Alkanet is Critically Endangered while Common Baskettail is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Common Baskettail
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Boraginales (Boraginales)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Boraginaceae	Corduliidae
Genus	Alkanna	Epitheca
Species	Alkanna maleolens	Epitheca cynosura

Conservation Status

Bad-smelling Alkanet

CR — Critically Endangered

Common Baskettail

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Common Baskettail
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bad-smelling Alkanet

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Common Baskettail

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in United States.

Bad-smelling Alkanet

The Bad-smelling Alkanet (Alkanna maleolens) is a species in the genus Alkanna. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Common Baskettail

The common baskettail (<em>Epitheca cynosura</em>) is a dragonfly found across terrestrial and freshwater habitats of the United States. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, reflecting a stable and widespread population within its native range. <em>Epitheca cynosura</em> belongs to the family Corduliidae and is typically associated with ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams, where its aquatic larvae develop. Adults are often observed patrolling over open water and forest edges in search of prey and mates. The species is named for the basket-like egg mass that females carry at the tip of their abdomen before depositing eggs in water. Males often form feeding swarms, particularly in the morning hours, where they capture small flying insects. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.