Diplacodes

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Perchers
Male scarlet percher
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Superfamily: Libelluloidea
Family: Libellulidae
Subfamily: Sympetrinae
Genus: Diplacodes
Kirby, 1889[1]

Diplacodes is a genus of dragonflies in the Libellulidae family.[2] They are commonly known as perchers. Their colours range from the totally black body of the African Diplacodes lefebvrii, the lovely pale blue of India's Diplacodes trivialis, to the intense red of the Asian–Australian Diplacodes haematodes.

Various species of this genus occur in Africa, Asia, Australia and the South West Pacific. They are generally small in size.

Etymology

The genus name Diplacodes combines Diplax, a genus name derived from the Greek δίς (dis, "twice") and πλάξ (plax, "flat and broad"), with the Greek suffix –ώδης (-ōdēs, "resembling" or "having the nature of"). The name refers to the similarity of the genus to Diplax and Diplacina.[3]

Species

The genus Diplacodes includes the following species:[4]

MaleFemaleScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Diplacodes bipunctata (Brauer, 1865)wandering percher[5]Australia
Diplacodes deminuta Lieftinck, 1969little percher[6]Central Africa
Diplacodes exilis Ris, 1911Madagascar
Diplacodes haematodes (Burmeister, 1839)scarlet percher[5]Australia (except Tasmania), Timor, New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.
Diplacodes lefebvrii (Rambur, 1842)black percher[7]Africa and southern Eurasia.
Diplacodes luminans (Karsch, 1893)luminous percher, barbet, barbet percher[8]Central Africa
Diplacodes melanopsis (Martin, 1901)black-faced percher[5]Eastern Australia
Diplacodes nebulosa (Fabricius, 1793)charcoal-winged percher[5]Asia and northern Australia
Diplacodes pumila Dijkstra, 2006dwarf percher[9]Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur, 1842)chalky percher,[5] ground skimmer[10]India

References

  1. Kirby, W.F. (1889). "A revision of the subfamily Libellulinae, with descriptions of new genera and species". Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 12: 249–348 [307]. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1889.tb00016.x – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  2. "Genus Diplacodes Kirby, 1889". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.
  4. Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  5. Günther Theischinger; John Hawking (2006). The complete field guide to dragonflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0-643-09073-8.
  6. Clausnitzer, V.; Dijkstra, K.-D.B.; Suhling, F. (2016). "Diplacodes deminuta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T59863A84817476. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T59863A84817476.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. "Checklist, English common names". DragonflyPix.com. Retrieved 5 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. Clausnitzer, V. (2016). "Diplacodes luminans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T184261A83894418. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T184261A83894418.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  9. Clausnitzer, V.; Clausnitzer, V. & Suhling, F. (2010). "Diplacodes pumila". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010 e.T168013A6442446. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T168013A6442446.en.
  10. Subramanian, K. A. (2005). Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India (PDF).