Pentaphlebia
| Pentaphlebia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Superfamily: | Tatocnemidoidea |
| Family: | Pentaphlebiidae Novelo-Gutiérrez, 1995[1] |
| Genus: | Pentaphlebia Förster, 1909[2] |
| Species[3] | |
| |
Pentaphlebia is the sole genus of damselflies in the family Pentaphlebiidae, one of three families in the superfamily Tatocnemidoidea.[3][4] The genus occurs in tropical forests of west-central Africa and currently contains three described species.[3]
Species of Pentaphlebia are associated with forest streams and are characterised by their slender bodies, transparent wings and predominantly red to coral-red colouration.[2] Pentaphlebiidae contains only the genus Pentaphlebia and is recognised as a distinct evolutionary lineage of damselflies.[4][5]
Description
Species of Pentaphlebia are medium-sized damselflies with slender bodies and transparent wings.[2] In the original description of the genus, Förster noted the unusual arrangement of veins in the wings and the predominantly blood-red to coral-red colouration of the abdomen.[2]
Adults are typically found resting on vegetation beside clear forest streams.[2] The larvae possess distinctive abdominal gill tufts, a feature shared with only a few other damselfly lineages and important in the taxonomic history of the group.[1]
Distribution and habitat
Species of Pentaphlebia occur in tropical rainforest regions of west-central Africa.[3] Adults are associated with clear forest streams, where they rest on vegetation along the stream margins.[2]
Family classification
Förster described the genus Pentaphlebia in 1909 from specimens collected in Cameroon by the missionary Heinrich Stahl.[2] For much of the twentieth century the genus was included in Amphipterygidae together with several geographically isolated genera from Central America, South America and Asia.[6]
Novelo-Gutiérrez (1995) recognised that the larvae of Pentaphlebia and Rimanella share distinctive gill tufts that are unique among damselflies and grouped them together in the subfamily Pentaphlebiinae.[1]
Subsequent morphological and molecular studies found little support for a close relationship among the genera traditionally included in Amphipterygidae.[4][7][8] Modern classifications therefore recognise Pentaphlebiidae as a separate family containing only the genus Pentaphlebia.[4][5]
In 2026, Carter and colleagues recognised Pentaphlebiidae, Protolestidae and Tatocnemididae as the superfamily Tatocnemidoidea, based on phylogenomic studies that resolved the three families as a distinct lineage of damselflies.[9]
Species
The following species are currently placed in Pentaphlebia:[3]
- Pentaphlebia gamblesi Parr, 1977
- Pentaphlebia mangana Dijkstra, Lambret & Mézière, 2015
- Pentaphlebia stahli Förster, 1909
Etymology
The family name Pentaphlebiidae is derived from the type genus Pentaphlebia, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families.
The genus name Pentaphlebia is presumably derived from the Greek πέντε (pente, "five") and φλέψ (phleps, "vein"), referring to the unusually small number of cross-veins in the wings noted by Förster in the original description.[2]
The species name stahli is an eponym honouring Heinrich Stahl, who collected the type specimens on which the genus was established.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Novelo-Gutiérrez, Rodolfo (1995). "The larva of Amphipteryx and a reclassification of Amphipterygidae sensu lato, based upon the larvae (Zygoptera)". Odonatologica. 24 (1): 73–87.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Förster, F. (1909). "Beiträge zu den Gattungen und Arten der Libellen". Jahrbücher des Nassauischen Vereins für Naturkunde (in German). 62: 211–235 [211].
- 1 2 3 4 5 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.
- 1 2 3 4 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.
- 1 2 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. Bibcode:2021MolPE.16007115B. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107115. hdl:11093/2768. PMID 33609713.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Rehn, A.C. (2003). "Phylogenetic analysis of higher-level relationships of Odonata". Systematic Entomology. 28 (2): 181–239. Bibcode:2003SysEn..28..181R. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.2003.00210.x.
- ↑ Bybee, S.M.; Ogden, T.H.; Branham, M.A.; Whiting, M.F. (2008). "Molecules, morphology and fossils: a comprehensive approach to odonate phylogeny and the evolution of the odonate wing". Cladistics. 24 (4): 477–514. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00191.x. PMID 34879634.
- ↑ Carter, Payton; Goodman, Aaron; Abbott, John; Bota Sierra, Cornelio; Bybee, Seth M.; Dow, Rory A.; Fomekong Lontchi, Judicael; Frandsen, Paul B.; Gonzalez Mozo, Laura; Guralnick, Rob; Hämäläinen, Matti; Joshi, Shantanu; Kohli, Manpreet K.; Lupiyaningdyah, Pungki; Montana, Katherine O.; Newton, Lacie; Onsongo, Violet; Orr, Albert G.; Pinto, Ângelo Parise; Sanchez-Herrera, Melissa; Sutherland, Laura N.; Theischinger, Gunther; Ware, Jessica L.; Zhang, Haomiao; Kalkman, Vincent J. (2026). "The classification and diversity of extant dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata)". International Journal of Odonatology. 29: 95–124. doi:10.48156/1388.2026.1917385.