Cloeon dipterum is a species of mayfly with a Holarctic distribution. It is the most common mayfly in ponds in the British Isles and the only ovoviviparous mayfly in Europe. Males differ from females in having turbinate eyes.
Description
In common with other members of the genera Cloeon and Procloeon, C. dipterum has a single pair of wings. This is also reflected in the specific epithet dipterum, which is from the Latin di-, meaning two, and the Greek pteron, meaning wing, and in his original description, Carl Linnaeus stated Inferiores alæ vix existunt ("smaller wings hardly present").
The compound eyes of C. dipterum show a striking sexual dimorphism, whereby females have lateral apposition eyes, while the males' eyes have an additional dorsal "turban-shaped" parts that function as superposition eyes. These extra eyes are thought to enable the males to locate isolated females in the mating swarm.
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