Libellulidae

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Libellulidae
Temporal range:
Pantala flavescens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Superfamily: Libelluloidea
Family: Libellulidae
Leach, 1815[1]
Diplacina bolivari, Luzon, Philippines

The chasers, darters, skimmers, and perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae,[2] the largest family of dragonflies.[3] It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Even if these are excluded (as Silsby does), there remains a family of over 1000 species.[4] With nearly worldwide distribution, these are the most commonly encountered dragonflies.

The genus Libellula is mostly New World but also has one of the few endangered odonates from Japan: Libellula angelina. Many of the members of this genus are brightly colored or have banded wings. The related genus Plathemis includes the whitetails. The genus Celithemis contains several brightly marked species in the southern United States. Members of the genus Sympetrum are called darters (or meadowhawks in North America) and are found throughout most of the world, except Australia. Several tropical species in the genera Trithemis and Zenithoptera are considered to be especially beautiful. Other common genera include Tramea and Pantala.

Libellulids have stout-bodied larvae with the lower lip or labium developed into a mask over the lower part of the face.

The earliest record of the family is the fossil genus †Palaeolibellula Fleck, Nel & Martinez-Delclos, 1999 from the Turonian of Kazakhstan, which appears to represent a stem-member of the family.[5][6]

Genera

The following genera are currently placed in Libelluidae:[4]

Fossil genera

Fossil larvae of Oryctodiplax

The following fossil genera are currently assigned to Libelluidae:[7][8]

Etymology

The family name Libellulidae is derived from the type genus Libellula, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families.

The genus name Libellula comes from Latin libella, meaning "a carpenter's level", because of the insect's ability to stay level when hovering.[13]

References

  1. Leach, W.E. (1815). "Entomology". In Brewster, D. (ed.). The Edinburgh Encyclopedia. Vol. 9 (reprint 1830 ed.). Edinburgh: William Blackburn. pp. 57–172 [136]. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.30911.
  2. "Family LIBELLULIDAE". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  3. Tennessen, Kenneth (2019), "Libellulidae", Dragonfly Nymphs of North America, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 407–576, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97776-8_12, ISBN 978-3-319-97775-1, retrieved 2023-10-16
  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. Fleck, G.; Nel, A.; Martı́nez-DelclòS, X. (1999). "The oldest record of libellulid dragonflies from the Upper Cretaceous of Kazakhstan (Insecta: Odonata, Anisoptera)". Cretaceous Research. 20 (5): 655–658. Bibcode:1999CrRes..20..655F. doi:10.1006/cres.1999.0166. ISSN 0195-6671.
  6. Kohli, Manpreet Kaur; Ware, Jessica L.; Bechly, Günter (2016). "How to date a dragonfly: Fossil calibrations for odonates". Palaeontologia Electronica. 19: 576. Bibcode:2016PalEl..19..576K. doi:10.26879/576. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  7. ZESSIN, WOLFGANG; ŽALOHAR, JURE; HITIJ, TOMAŽ (2008). "A new fossil dragonfly (Insecta, Odonata, Libellulidae) of the Miocene (Lower-Sarmatian) of the Tunjice Hills, Slovenia". Virgo, Mitteilungsblatt des Entomologischen Vereins Mecklenburg 11. Jahrgang, Heft. 1: 86–96.
  8. "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  9. Petrulevicius, Julian F.; Jarzembowski, Edmund A. (2005). "New fossil Odonata from the European Cenozoic (Insecta: Odonata: Thaumatoneuridae, Aeshnidae, ?Idionychidae, Libellulidae)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 235 (3): 343–380. Bibcode:2005NJGPA.235..343P. doi:10.1127/njgpa/235/2005/343.
  10. Zessin, Wolfgang (2019). "Neue Insekten aus dem Moler (Paläozän/Eozän) von Dänemark, Teil 4 (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Eumastacidae, Ensifera: Gryllidae; Odonata: Libellulidae)". Virgo. 22: 56–63.
  11. Bechly, Günter; Sach, Volker J. (2002). "An interesting new fossil dragonfly (Anisoptera: Libellulidae: "Brachydiplacini") from the Miocene of Germany, with a discussion on the phylogeny of Tetrathemistinae and a fossil list for the locality Heggbach". Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk. B (325).
  12. Prokop, Jakub; Fleck, Günther; Nel, André (2003). "New dragonflies from the Lower Miocene (Ottnangian/Karpatian) of the Cypris Shale in western Bohemia (Odonata: Libellulidae)". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Monatshefte (9): 561–576. doi:10.1127/njgpm/2003/2003/561.
  13. "Definition of LIBELLULA".

Bibliography

  • Silsby, Jill. 2001. Dragonflies of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.