| Coenagrionoidea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Saffron-faced blue dart ( Pseudagrion rubriceps ) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Superfamily: | Coenagrionoidea Kirby, 1890 |
| Families | |
Coenagrionoidea is a superfamily of closed wing damselflies of the order Odonata found worldwide. It contains 3 different families. [2]
Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Like most other flying insects, they evolved in the early Mesozoic era. Their prototypes, the giant dragonflies of the Carboniferous, 325 MYA, are no longer placed in the Odonata but included in the Protodonata or Meganisoptera.
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. An ancient group, damselflies have existed since at least the Lower Permian, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Enallagma cyathigerum is a species found mainly between latitudes 40°N and 72°N; It is widely distributed in the Palearctic, and the Nearctic species Enallagma annexum was at one time considered to be synonymous with it. The species can reach a length of 32 to 35 mm. It is common in many different countries including Russia, Europe and South Korea. Damselflies are an important link between the health of the aquatic ecosystem and its response to climate change.
The Large red damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula, is a species of damselflies belonging to the family Coenagrionidae.
The blue-tailed damselfly or common bluetail is a damselfly, belonging to the family Coenagrionidae.
The azure damselfly is a species of damselfly found in most of Europe. It is notable for its distinctive black and blue colouring. They are commonly found around ponds and lakesides during the summer.
The insect family Coenagrionidae is placed in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, making it the largest damselfly family. The family Coenagrionidae has six subfamilies: Agriocnemidinae, Argiinae, Coenagrioninae, Ischnurinae, Leptobasinae, and Pseudagrioninae.
The Calopterygidae are a family of damselflies, in the suborder Zygoptera. They are commonly known as the broad-winged damselflies, demoiselles, or jewelwings. These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 50–80 mm, are often metallic-coloured, and can be differentiated from other damselflies by the broader connection between the wings and the body, as opposed to the abrupt narrowing seen in other damselfly families. The family contains some 150 species.
The name Palaeoptera has been traditionally applied to those ancestral groups of winged insects that lacked the ability to fold the wings back over the abdomen as characterizes the Neoptera. The Diaphanopterodea, which are palaeopteran insects, had independently and uniquely evolved a different wing-folding mechanism. Both mayflies and dragonflies lack any of the smell centers in their brain found in Neoptera.
Erythromma najas, the red-eyed damselfly, is a member of the Coenagrionidae family of damselflies.
Epiprocta is one of the two extant suborders of the Odonata. It was proposed relatively recently, having been created to accommodate the inclusion of the Anisozygoptera. The latter has been shown to be not a natural suborder, but rather a paraphyletic collection of lineages, so it has been combined with the previous suborder Anisoptera, the well-known dragonflies, into the Epiprocta. The old suborder Anisoptera is proposed to become an infraorder within the Epiprocta, whereas the "anisozygopterans" included here form the infraorder Epiophlebioptera.
The Pseudostigmatidae are a family of tropical damselflies, known as helicopter damselflies, giant damselflies, or forest giants. The family includes the largest of all damselfly species. They specialize in preying on web-building spiders, and breed in phytotelmata, the small bodies of water held by plants such as bromeliads.
The Odonatoptera are a superorder of ancient winged insects, placed in the Palaeoptera which probably form a paraphyletic group however. The dragonflies and damselflies are the only living members of this group, which was far more diverse in the late Paleozoic and contained gigantic species, including the griffinflies of the order Protodonata. This lineage dates back at least to the Bashkirian, not quite 320 million years ago.
Platystictidae is a family of damselflies, commonly known as shadowdamsels. They look very similar to the threadtail damselfly family (Protoneuridae). They can mostly be found throughout Asia, Central America, and South America.
Libelluloidea is a superfamily of dragonflies.
Hemiphlebiidae is a family of damselflies, it contains only one extant species, the ancient greenling, native to Southern Australia and Tasmania. The fossil record of the group extends back to the Late Jurassic, making them the oldest known crown group damselflies.
Calopterygoidea is a superfamily of damselflies in the order Odonata.
Protoneura cara, the orange-striped threadtail, is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Protoneuridae, superfamily Coenagrionoidea. It is found in Central America and North America.
Media related to Coenagrionoidea at Wikimedia Commons 
Data related to Coenagrionoidea at Wikispecies