The size of adults within the genus ranges from small to large; in Africa, the hindwing ranges in length from 22 to 50mm. The bodies of adult females and recently emerged males are yellow to brown with black markings; these may facilitate identification of individuals to species level. Mature males, however, develop blue-grey pruinosity over most of their bodies - this makes species identification difficult without the capture of a specimen and inspection of the shape of the hamule.[3]
Species
The genus Orthetrum includes the following species:[4]
Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
↑ A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Orthetrum.
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