Family COENAGRIONIDAE

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Introduction

The Coenagrionidae is a large, cosmopolitan family, containing 82 recognized genera and some 1,000 described species (Bridges 1994). The Australian fauna is relatively meagre (13 genera and 44 species) and its affinities lie to the north (Watson 1981). There has been no comprehensive revision of the family since the Selys synopses (1860–1886), and the taxonomic interpretation of the Australian coenagrionids depends substantially on an old and scattered literature, much of which deals primarily with exotic faunas and is not easy of access. As Lieftinck (1982) has shown, these long-standing interpretations (many of which date from Martin's correspondence with Tillyard between 1905 and 1915) may be erroneous. Prior to the closing date for entries to the Catalogue, we have not been able to obtain all the primary references and types needed to produce a satisfactory account of the Australian representatives of this family. Theischinger (1997) revised the Pseudagrion ignifer species complex from Australia and an illustrated key to the New South Wales coenagrionid species was given by Hawking & Theischinger (1999).

Subfamilial arrangement of the Coenagrionidae is not agreed upon and requires further study. Fraser (1957), Davies (1981) and Davies & Tobin (1984) have diagnosed subfamilies, but we have not included them in this catalogue.

 

Diagnosis

Adult: two antenodal crossveins; postnodal crossveins usually aligned with crossveins behind them; distal angle of discoidal cell acute; no supplementary intercalated longitudinal veins; CuP and anal vein well developed.

Larva: labium flat, short, palps slender, dentate on distal margin, median lobe entire, setae on palps and prementum; gills lamellate, subnodate or entire in the Australian species, the faces of the lamellae held vertically, the tracheae branching at an acute angle to the main axis.

 

General References

Bridges, C.A. 1994. Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world. Urbana, Illinois : C.A. Bridges xiv 951 pp.

Davies, D.A.L. 1981. A synopsis of the extant genera of the Odonata. Societas Internationalis Odonatologica, Rapid Communications 3: i-xiv 1-59

Davies, D.A.L. & Tobin, P. 1984. The dragonflies of the world: a systematic list of the extant species of Odonata. Vol. 1. Zygoptera and Anisozygoptera. Societas Internationalis Odonatologica, Rapid Communications Suppl. 3: i-ix 1-127

Fraser, F.C. 1957. A Reclassification of the Order Odonata. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W. 133 pp., 1 pl.

Hawking, J. & Theischinger, G. 1999. Dragonfly larvae (Odonata). A guide to the identification of larvae of Australian families and to the identification and ecology of larvae from New South Wales. Albury : Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology Vol. 24 iv 218 pp.

Lieftinck, M.A. 1982. Settling up matters of taxonomy, nomenclature, and synonymy in the genus Austroagrion Tillyard (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Odonatologica 11: 287-295

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1860. Synopsis des Agrionines, dernière légion: Protonevra. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 2 10: 431-462

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1860. Synopsis des Agrionines, première légion: Pseudostigma. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 10: 9-27

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1862. Synopsis des Agrionines, seconde légion: Lestes. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 2 13: 288-338

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1862. Synopsis des Agrionines, troisième légion: Podagrion. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 2 14: 5-44

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1863. Synopsis des Agrionines, quatrième légion: Platycnemis. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 16: 147-176

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1865. Synopsis des Agrionines, 5me légion: Agrion. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 20: 375-417

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1876. Synopsis des Agrionines, 5me légion: Agrion (suite). Le grand genre Agrion. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 42: 490-531, 952-991

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1877. Synopsis des Agrionines, 5me légion: Agrion (suite et fin). Les genres Telebasis, Argiocnemis et Hemiphlebia. Bulletin de la Classe des Science, Academie Royale de Belgique 43: 97-159

Selys-Longchamps, E. de 1886. Revision du synopsis des Agrionines. Première partie comprenant les légions Pseudostigma-Podagrion- Platycnemis et Protonevra. Mémoires Couronnés par l'Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres de Belgique 38(4): i-iv 1-233

Theischinger, G. 1997. The Pseudagrion ignifer complex from Australia (Odonata: Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Linzer Biologische Beiträge 29(2): 799-805 [Date published 30/Dec/1997]

Watson, J.A.L. 1974. The distributions of the Australian dragonflies (Odonata). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 13: 137-149

Watson, J.A.L. 1981. Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). pp. 1139-1167 in Keast, A. (ed.). Ecological Biogeography of Australia. The Hague : Junk Vol. 2.

 

Common Name References

Theischinger, G., Hawking, J. & Orr, A. 2021. The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 2nd edn. (Pond Damsels)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
10-May-2022	ODONATA	21-Mar-2022	MODIFIED
19-Jul-2012		19-Jul-2012	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)