Biology:Synlestidae
Synlestidae is a family of damselflies commonly known as sylphs or malachites.[1][2] The family includes nine living genera distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia and the Caribbean.[3][4] 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.[4][5]
Description
Most synlestids inhabit streams and rivers, particularly in forested habitats.[5][1] The larvae are aquatic and possess short, vertically held caudal gills.[5]
Taxonomic history
Tillyard established Synlestinae in 1917 for the Australian genus Synlestes.[6] Fraser later recognised two subfamilies within the group, Chlorolestinae and Synlestinae.[7] Molecular and morphological studies in the twenty-first century have refined the limits of the family, including the transfer of the African genus Nubiolestes from Perilestidae to Synlestidae by Dijkstra and colleagues (2013).[8]
The family is currently placed within the superfamily Lestoidea.[8][9]
Genera
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
Synlestidae has a modest fossil record extending from the Cretaceous to the Eocene, indicating a wider historical distribution than that of its living representatives.[10][11]
Fossil genera
The following fossil genera are currently placed in Synlestidae:[10]
- †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
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.[12]
References
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Wikispecies has information related to Synlestidae |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Synlestidae. Identification & Ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates. Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
- ↑ "Family SYNLESTIDAE". Australian Biological Resources Study. 2014. https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Synlestidae.
- ↑ "Synlestidae". GBIF Secretariat. 2023. doi:10.15468/39omei. https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Silsby, Jill (2001). Dragonflies of the World. CSIRO Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 0643065121.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Theischinger, Günther; Hawking, John (2021). The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486313747.
- ↑ Tillyard, R.J. (1917). The biology of dragonflies (Odonata or Paraneuroptera). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 396 [277]. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.35170. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/24948176.
- ↑ Fraser, F.C. (1957). A reclassification of the order Odonata. Handbook / Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales; 12.. Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. pp. 133 [60].
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dijkstra, K.D.B. (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. http://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/viewFile/zootaxa.3703.1.9/4279.
- ↑ 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: 1–15. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107115. PMID 33609713. Bibcode: 2021MolPE.16007115B.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Paleobiology Database: Synlestidae". Paleobiology Database. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=txn:193649.
- ↑ 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. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283318421_The_Naming_of_Australia's_Dragonflies.
Template:Odonata Wikidata ☰ Q1888552 entry
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