Dicteriadidae is a small family of damselflies endemic to South America. The family contains only two living species, Dicterias atrosanguinea and Heliocharis amazona, each representing a monotypic genus.[3] Members of the family inhabit tropical forests of the Amazon Basin and surrounding regions and are notable for their slender bodies, extremely long legs and distinctive wing venation.[1][4]
| Dicteriadidae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Superfamily: | Calopterygoidea |
| Family: | Dicteriadidae Selys, 1853[1] |
| Genera | |
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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First recognised by Sélys in 1853, Dicteriadidae is one of the oldest family-level lineages recognised among damselflies.[1] Although the family has been known under several different names during its taxonomic history, modern classifications recognise Dicteriadidae as a distinct South American lineage containing only the genera Dicterias and Heliocharis.[5][6]
Description
editDicteriadids are medium-sized damselflies with slender bodies and remarkably long legs. The wings are strongly stalked at the base and possess a distinctive venation pattern that has long separated the family from other damselfly groups.[1] Males have simple upper anal appendages and greatly reduced lower appendages.[1]
The family contains only two species. Heliocharis amazona is a bluish-green species with a long, expanded pterostigma that occurs throughout parts of the Amazon Basin.[1] Dicterias atrosanguinea is a smaller reddish species with exceptionally long, slender legs, known principally from northern South America.[1] Despite more than 170 years of study, no additional living species have been recognised, making Dicteriadidae one of the smallest damselfly families.[3]
Taxonomic history
editThe lineage was first recognised by Edmond de Sélys Longchamps in 1853 as the Legion Dicterias, comprising the genera Dicterias and Heliocharis.[1] During the twentieth century, the group was treated under several different family names, including Heliocharitidae and Dicteriastidae.[7][8]
Modern classifications recognise the family as Dicteriadidae. The name is based on Sélys' 1853 "Legion Dicterias", which corresponds to a modern family-level taxon. During the twentieth century the group was variously referred to as Heliocharitidae, Dicteriastidae and Dicteriidae, but Dunkle (1991) concluded that Dicteriadidae is the correct family-group name under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.[2][5][9]
Etymology
editSpecies
editThe following species are currently placed in Dicteriadidae:[3]
- Dicterias atrosanguinea – red bareleg: endemic to Brazil
- Heliocharis amazona – widely distributed in South America
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Selys-Longchamps, E. (1853). "Synopsis des Caloptérygines". Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique (in French). 20 (Annexe): 1-73 [54] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- 1 2 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.
- 1 2 3 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 May 2026.
- ↑ Fleck, G., Neiss, U. G., & Hamada, N. (2012). The larva of Dicterias Selys, 1853 (Odonata: Heliocharitidae (= Dicteriadidae)), and taxonomic and phylogenetic notes on Heliocharitidae. Zootaxa, 3164, 32-40.
- 1 2 3 Dunkle, S.W. (1991). "Review of the neotropical damselfly family Dicteriadidae (new spelling), with an annotated bibliography (Zygoptera)". Odonatologica. 20 (4): 401–416.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Tillyard, R.J.; Fraser, F.C. (1939). "A reclassification of the order Odonata based on some new interpretations of the venation of the dragonfly wing. Part II". The Australian Zoologist. 9: 195–221 [207].
- ↑ Montgomery, B.E. (1959). "Geographical distribution of the New World calopterygine dragonflies, with notes on their evolutionary position". In Hewer, H.R.; Riley, N.D. (eds.). Proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Zoology, London, 16–23 July 1958. London: XVth International Congress of Zoology. pp. 1001–1003.
- ↑ Trueman, John W.H. (1999). "The Family-Group Names Based on Selys' Légions". International Journal of Odonatology. 2 (2): 141–144. Bibcode:1999IJOdo...2..141T. doi:10.1080/13887890.1999.9748125.
- ↑ Sophocles, E. A. (1860). A Glossary of Later and Byzantine Greek. Memoirs of the American Academy. Vol. 7. London: Trübner & Co. pp. 624 [244].