Synlestidae
| Synlestidae | |
|---|---|
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| Chlorolestes tessellatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Superfamily: | Lestoidea |
| Family: | Synlestidae Tillyard, 1917[1] |
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| Distribution of Synlestidae | |
| Synonyms | |
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Synlestidae is a family of damselflies commonly known as sylphs or malachites.[3][4] The family includes nine living genera distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia and the Caribbean.[5][6] Members are typically large, slender damselflies with metallic green, bronze or black coloration and pale markings, and many species rest with their wings partly spread.[6][7]
Description
[edit]Most synlestids inhabit streams and rivers, particularly in forested habitats.[7][3] The larvae are aquatic and possess short, vertically held caudal gills.[7]
Taxonomic history
[edit]Tillyard established Synlestinae in 1917 for the Australian genus Synlestes.[1] He subsequently recognised Synlestidae at family rank in 1926, a classification retained by Tillyard and Fraser in 1938.[8][9]
In 1951, Fraser introduced Chlorolestidae, placing Synlestes and related genera in the subfamily Chlorolestinae.[10] The name Chlorolestidae subsequently became widely used, but in 1985 Theischinger and Watson explicitly recognised the priority of Synlestidae Tillyard, 1917 over Chlorolestidae.[11] This treatment was followed in later classifications.[12][2]
The limits of Synlestidae have subsequently been refined through morphological and molecular studies, and its placement is currently within the superfamily Lestoidea.[2][13]
Genera
[edit]The following genera are currently placed in Synlestidae:
- Chlorolestes Selys, 1862
- Chorismagrion Morton, 1914
- Ecchlorolestes Barnard, 1937
- Episynlestes Kennedy, 1920
- Megalestes Selys, 1862
- Nubiolestes Fraser, 1945
- Phylolestes Christiansen, 1947
- Sinolestes Needham, 1930
- Synlestes Selys, 1868
Fossil record
[edit]Synlestidae has a modest fossil record extending from the Cretaceous to the Eocene, indicating a wider historical distribution than that of its living representatives.[14][15]
Fossil genera
[edit]The following fossil genera are currently placed in Synlestidae:[14]
- †Albertalestes Jouault and Nel, 2023
- †Cretaphylolestes Huang et al., 2021
- †Gaurimacia Vasilenko, 2005
- †Inacayalestes Petrulevičius, 2015
- †Madres Petrulevičius, 2018
- †Palaeophylolestes Doriath-Döhler et al., 2023
Etymology
[edit]The family name Synlestidae is derived from the type genus Synlestes, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families.
The genus name Synlestes is derived from the Greek σύν (syn, "together"), combined with Lestes, a genus name derived from the Greek λῃστής (lēstēs, "robber"), indicating resemblance to that genus.[16]
References
[edit]
- 1 2 Tillyard, R.J. (1917). The biology of dragonflies (Odonata or Paraneuroptera). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 396 [277]. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.35170.
- 1 2 3 Dijkstra, K.D.B.; et al. (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. hdl:10072/61365.
- 1 2 Synlestidae. Identification & Ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates. Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
- ↑ "Family SYNLESTIDAE". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ↑ "Synlestidae". GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. GBIF Secretariat. 2023. doi:10.15468/39omei. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- 1 2 Silsby, Jill (2001). Dragonflies of the World. CSIRO Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 0643065121.
- 1 2 3 Theischinger, Günther; Hawking, John (2021). The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486313747.
- ↑ Tillyard, R. J. (1926). The Insects of Australia and New Zealand (PDF). Sydney: Angus & Robertson. pp. xv, 1–560 [78].
- ↑ Tillyard, R.J.; Fraser, F.C. (1938). "A reclassification of the order Odonata based on some new interpretations of the venation of the dragonfly wing. Part I". The Australian Zoologist. 9 (2): 125–169 [154] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ↑ Fraser, F.C. (1951). "Outline of a new classification of the legion Lestes Selys (order Odonata)". Entomological News. 62 (2): 61–69 [63].
- ↑ Theischinger, G.; Watson, J. A. L. (1985). "The genus Episynlestes Kennedy (Odonata: Synlestidae)". Journal of the Australian Entomological Society. 24: 143–148. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3515948.
- ↑ Bridges, Charles A. (1994). Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world (3rd ed.). Urbana, Illinois: Charles A. Bridges. p. II.1. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15291.
- ↑ Bybee, S. M.; Kalkman, V. J.; Erickson, R. J.; Frandsen, P. B.; Breinholt, J. W.; Suvorov, A.; Ware, J. L. (2021). "Phylogeny and classification of Odonata using targeted genomics". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 160 107115: 1–15. Bibcode:2021MolPE.16007115B. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107115. hdl:11093/2768. PMID 33609713.
- 1 2 "Paleobiology Database: Synlestidae". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Vasilenko, D. V. (2005). New damselflies (Odonata: Synlestidae, Hemiphlebiidae) from the Mesozoic Transbaikalian locality of Chernovskie Kopi. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 39(3), 280–83.
- ↑ Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.
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