Perilestidae

Perilestidae
Temporal range: Cenomanian–Recent
Perissolestes guianensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Superfamily: Lestoidea
Family: Perilestidae
Kennedy, 1920
Map showing global distribution of Perilestidae
Distribution of Perilestidae

Perilestidae is a family of damselflies commonly known as shortwings or twigtails. The family includes about 20 living species in two genera, all of which occur in the tropical regions of the Americas. Members of the family are characterised by their very long, slender abdomens and relatively short wings, giving them a distinctive twig-like appearance.

Classification

Perilestidae was established by Kennedy in 1920 as Perilestinae, based on the Neotropical genus Perilestes. Modern studies support the family as a distinct lineage within the superfamily Lestoidea. The African genus Nubiolestes, formerly included in Perilestidae, was transferred to Synlestidae by Dijkstra and colleagues (2013).

Description

Perilestids are slender forest damselflies with very long, narrow abdomens and comparatively short wings. They typically inhabit shaded tropical forests, where they rest among vegetation with the abdomen hanging vertically.

Genera

The following genera are currently placed in Perilestidae:

Fossils

The fossil record of Perilestidae consists of the extinct genus †Palaeoperilestes, described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.

References

  1. 1 2 Kennedy, C.H. (1920). "The phylogeny of the zygopterous dragonflies as based on the evidence of the penes". Ohio Journal of Science. 21 (1): 19–29 [25] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  2. 1 2 3 Haber, W. and Wagner, D. Perilestidae: Shortwings. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Ecuador.
  3. 1 2 Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Neiss, U. G. and Neusa, H. (2010). The larva of Perilestes attenuatus Selys, 1886 (Odonata: Perilestidae) from Amazonas, Brazil. Zootaxa 2614 53–58.
  5. 1 2 3 Silsby, Jill (2001). Dragonflies of the World. CSIRO Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 0643065121.
  6. 1 2 Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.; Bechly, Günter; Bybee, Seth M.; Dow, Rory A.; Dumont, Henri J.; Fleck, Günther; Garrison, Rosser W.; Hämäläinen, Matti; Kalkman, Vincent J.; Karube, Haruki; May, Michael L.; Orr, Albert G.; Paulson, Dennis R.; Rehn, Andrew C.; Theischinger, Günther (2013). "The classification and diversity of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness (Addenda 2013)". Zootaxa. 3703 (1): 36–45. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3703.1.9. ISSN 1175-5334.
  7. ↑ Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.; Kalkman, Vincent J.; Dow, Rory A.; Stokvis, Frank R.; Van Tol, Jan (2014). "Redefining the damselfly families: A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Zygoptera (Odonata)". Systematic Entomology. 39 (1): 68–96. doi:10.1111/syen.12035.
  8. ↑ Machado, A. (2015). Perilestes eustaquioi sp. nov. and new distributional records of Perilestidae (Odonata) in Brazil. Zoologia (Curitiba), 32(5), 428–430.
  9. ↑ Zheng, Daran; Wang, Bo; Jarzembowski, Edmund A.; Chang, Su-Chin; Nel, André (2016-10-01). "The first fossil Perilestidae (Odonata: Zygoptera) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 65: 199–205. Bibcode:2016CrRes..65..199Z. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.05.002. hdl:10722/231813.