Damselfly Families of Southern Africa

Order Odonata

• Suborder Zygoptera

Worldwide

• DNA is changing the damselfly families. There are currently 27 families worldwide with with 7 more likely to be created.

Africa

Nine families in Africa with six families are present in the Southern African Region

• Family Calopterygidae Selys, 1850    Demoiselles
• Family Coenagrionidae Kirby, 1890     Pond Damsels
• Family Chlorocyphidae Cowley, 1937 Jewels
• Family Lestidae Calvert, 1901 Spreadwings
• Family Platycnemididae Yakobson & Bianchi, 1905 Stream Damsels
• Family Synlestidae Tillyard, 1917     Malachites

These families are differentiated by:

• Wing venation and wing position at rest
• Body shape and length
• Clasper morphology

An example of each family is shown here.

Synopsis

• Presently only southern African species are shown.
• Click on all images to enlarge.
• Click on family names for more information on the family
• A click on genus/species name will link to the main species description article and image gallery.
• Image set in Alphabetic order by genus
• Images may not represent the first image shown in the family

Families