Coenagrion
| Coenagrion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coenagrion pulchellum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Coenagrionidae |
| Genus: | Coenagrion Kirby, 1890[1] |
Coenagrion is a genus of damselflies in the family Coenagrionidae.[2] Species of Coenagrion occur throughout the Holarctic, including Europe, Asia and North America.[2] They are commonly known as the Eurasian bluets, although several species also occur in North America.[3]
Members of Coenagrion are small to medium-sized damselflies, typically blue and black in colour, and are often associated with ponds, lakes and slow-moving freshwater habitats.[4] The genus includes some of the most widespread and familiar damselflies of the Northern Hemisphere, including Coenagrion puella, Coenagrion pulchellum and Coenagrion hastulatum.[2]
Description
Species of Coenagrion are slender damselflies with narrow wings held closed over the abdomen when at rest.[4] Males are typically bright blue with black markings, while females may be blue, green, brown or pink depending on the species and colour form.[4] Most species inhabit still or slow-flowing freshwater environments, where the larvae develop among submerged vegetation.[4]
Taxonomic history
The genus Coenagrion was established by Kirby in 1890 as part of his revision of the damselflies formerly included in the broadly defined genus Agrion.[1] In the same work Kirby recognised the subfamily Coenagrioninae, from which the family name Coenagrionidae is derived.[1]
Coenagrion remains the type genus of Coenagrionidae and is one of the principal genera of the family.[5][6]
Species
The following species are currently placed in Coenagrion:[2][7]
- Coenagrion aculeatum Yu & Bu, 2007
- Coenagrion angulatum Walker, 1912 – Prairie Bluet[8]
- Coenagrion armatum (Charpentier, 1840) – Norfolk Damselfly[4] or Dark Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion australocaspicum Dumont & Heidari, 1996
- Coenagrion caerulescens (Fonscolombe, 1838) – Mediterranean Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion castellani Roberts, 1948
- Coenagrion daponshanensis (Zhou & Zhou, 2007)
- Coenagrion ecornutum (Selys in Selys & McLachlan, 1872)
- Coenagrion exclamationis (Fraser, 1919)
- Coenagrion glaciale (Hagen in Selys & McLachlan, 1872)
- Coenagrion hastulatum (Charpentier, 1825) – Northern Damselfly,[4] Spearhead Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion holdereri (Förster, 1900)
- Coenagrion hylas (Trybom, 1889) – Siberian Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion intermedium Lohmann, 1990 – Cretan Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion interrogatum (Selys, 1876) – Subarctic Bluet[8]
- Coenagrion johanssoni (Wallengren, 1894) – Arctic Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion lanceolatum (Selys in Selys & McLachlan, 1872)
- Coenagrion lunulatum (Charpentier, 1840) – Irish Damselfly,[4]
- Coenagrion melanoproctum (Selys, 1876) (doubtful species)
- Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) – Southern Damselfly,[4] Mercury Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion ornatum (Selys, 1850) – Ornate Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion persicum Lohmann, 1993
- Coenagrion ponticum (Bartenev, 1929)
- Coenagrion puella (Linnaeus, 1758) – Azure Damselfly[4]
- Coenagrion pulchellum (Vander Linden, 1825) – Variable Damselfly[4]
- Coenagrion resolutum (Selys, 1876) – Taiga Bluet[8]
- Coenagrion scitulum (Rambur, 1842) – Dainty Damselfly,[4] Dainty Bluet[9]
- Coenagrion syriacum (Morton, 1924) – Syrian Bluet[10]
- Coenagrion terue (Asahina, 1949)
Biology
Thermal adaptation
This genus's capacity for phenotypically plastic responses to the surface air temperature is important to species' ranges.[11] These thermal responses will also decide a great deal of these species' responses to climate change.[11] Nilsson-Örtman et al., 2012 find a high degree of thermal adaptation in high latitude populations of Coenagrion.[11] They found similar plasticity even for various sympatric species at the same locations, and despite the highly variable weather at such latitudes.[11]
Etymology
The genus name Coenagrion combines the Greek κοινός (koinos, "common") with Agrion, the name of a related genus.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 Kirby, W.F. (1890). A Synonymic Catalogue of Neuroptera Odonata, or Dragonflies. With an Appendix of fossil species. London: Gurney & Jackson. pp. 202 [148]. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.5534.
- 1 2 3 4 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 June 2026.
- ↑ Lam, Ed. Damselflies of the Northeast, Forest Hill: Biodiversity Press, 2004.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "British Dragonfly Society". British Dragonfly Society. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.; Bechly, Günter; Bybee, Seth M.; Dow, Rory A.; Dumont, Henri J.; Fleck, Günther; Garrison, Rosser W.; Hämäläinen, Matti; Kalkman, Vincent J.; Karube, Haruki; May, Michael L.; Orr, Albert G.; Paulson, Dennis R.; Rehn, Andrew C.; Theischinger, Günther (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. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Coenagrion. funet.fi
- 1 2 3 Dragonfly Society of the Americas. "North American Odonata: The Odonata of North America". Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "DragonflyPix". DragonflyPix. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Schneider, W. & Kalkman, V. (2010). "Coenagrion syriacum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010 e.T60272A12338268. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T60272A12338268.en.
- 1 2 3 4 Sgrò, Carla M.; Terblanche, John S.; Hoffmann, Ary A. (2016-03-11). "What Can Plasticity Contribute to Insect Responses to Climate Change?". Annual Review of Entomology. 61 (1). Annual Reviews: 433–451. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-010715-023859. ISSN 0066-4170. PMID 26667379.
- ↑ Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.
