Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. The two groups are distinguished with dragonflies usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and wings folded together along body at rest. Adult odonates can land and perch, but rarely walk.
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterised by a pair of large, multifaceted, compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each.
Pantala flavescens, the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider, is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet, with good population on every continent except Antarctica, although rare in Europe. Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km ; to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km —one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
Somatochlora, or the striped emeralds, is a genus of dragonflies in the family Corduliidae with 42 described species found across the Northern Hemisphere.
Brachythemis is a genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. They are commonly known as groundlings.
Petalura pulcherrima is a species of Australian dragonfly in the family Petaluridae, commonly known as a beautiful petaltail. It is a very large and slender dragonfly, mostly black or dark brown with yellow markings and its eyes widely separated on top of its head. It has clear wings and a very long, narrow pterostigma.
Pseudagrion is the largest genus of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae, with over 140 species. Its range includes most of Africa, much of Asia, and Australia. Africa holds most of the diversity with almost 100 species. It has occupied most of the freshwater habitats in its range, and dominates damselfly communities in habitats as different as desert pools, equatorial rainforests and montane streams.
Somatochlora sahlbergi, the treeline emerald, is a species of dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It is found at high latitudes across northern Eurasia and North America, and occurs farther north than any other dragonfly.
Trithemis is a genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. They are commonly known as dropwings. There are over 40 species, mainly from Africa; two are endemic to Madagascar, and five can be found in Asia. They are found in a wide variety of habitats; some species being adapted to permanent streams in forests, and others being capable of breeding in temporary pools in deserts.
Frank Fortescue Laidlaw (1876–1963) was a British biologist, working particularly in the fields of entomology, herpetology, and malacology.
Chalcolestes viridis, formerly Lestes viridis, is a damselfly of the family Lestidae. It has a metallic green body and at rest it holds its wings away from its body. Its common name is the willow emerald damselfly, the green emerald damselfly, or the western willow spreadwing. It has an elongated abdomen and pale brown spots on its wings and resides in areas of still water with overhanging trees.
The genus Epiophlebia is the sole member of the family Epiophlebiidae, which is itself the sole living representative of the Epiproctan infraorder Epiophlebioptera, and it contains only three species. The first two species were historically placed in their own suborder Anisozygoptera, considered intermediate between dragonflies and damselflies, mainly because the hind wings are very similar in size and shape to the forewings and held back over the body at rest, as in damselflies. It has more recently been recognized that the genus Epiophlebia shares a more recent ancestor with dragonflies, and the group has accordingly been reclassified as an infraorder within the dragonflies. Very recently a third species, Epiophlebia sinensis, has been described from Heilongjiang province in northeast China, bridging Epiophlebia distribution gap between Nepal and Japan. A fourth species has been claimed from larval material from South China, but this is not universally accepted. Epiophlebia species are a freshwater indicator of a river ecosystem health. A study that has been conducted on the head anatomy of Epiophlebia has verified the presence of 41 muscles in the head of the larva. Like in true dragonflies (Anisoptera) the aquatic nymphs breathe through a rectal chamber, but jet propulsion has yet to be documented. Epiophlebia species are a representative of a dragonfly fauna which originated during the Jurassic period on the rising continent of Eurasia.
Cannaphila is a small Neotropical genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. They are commonly called narrow-winged skimmers. One species, C. insularis, occurs in North America. There are three species.
Epiophlebia superstes, the Japanese relict dragonfly, is one of the four species of the genus Epiophlebia, belonging to the family Epiophlebiidae, which is itself the sole living representative of the epiproctan infraorder Epiophlebioptera.
Diphlebia euphoeoides, sometimes spelled Diphlebia euphaeoides, known as the tropical rockmaster, is an Australian species of broad winged damselfly. It is one of a group known as the azure damselflies. It is found in Queensland (Australia) and Papua New Guinea. It typically occurs near lakes, waterfalls or streams at relatively low altitudes, and is occasionally seen near dry pools.
Archibasis mimetes is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae, commonly known as a blue-banded longtail. It is a medium-sized damselfly; the male is bright blue and black. It has been recorded from New Guinea and northern Australia, where it inhabits streams.
Austrolestes insularis is an Australian species of damselfly in the family Lestidae, commonly known as a northern ringtail. It is widespread across northern Australia, where it inhabits streams, pools, and ponds.
Somatochlora daviesi is a species of dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It was first described in 1977 based on specimens from Meghalaya, India, and is also known from Nepal and Bhutan. It resembles the east Asian S. dido in its small size and lack of yellow markings on most of the abdomen. Like other species in the genus, S. davisi is predominantly dark metallic brown to green. The formerly recognised Somatochlora nepalensis is now considered to be a synonym of S. daviesi.
The giant hawker or the gigantic riverhawker, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found throughout Sundaland, having been recorded on Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo. It is the type species for the genus Tetracanthagyna.
