Platystictidae
| Platystictidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Protosticta gravelyi, male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Superfamily: | Platystictoidea Kennedy, 1920[1] |
| Family: | Platystictidae Kennedy, 1920[1] |
| Genera[2] | |
 | |
| Distribution of Platystictidae | |
Platystictidae is a family of damselflies, commonly known as shadowdamsels. It is the only family in the superfamily Platystictoidea.[2][3]
Studies of damselfly evolution indicate that Platystictoidea is the second-earliest diverging extant damselfly lineage, after Lestoidea.[4][5][6]
They occur mainly in tropical forests of Asia, Central America and South America, where most species inhabit shaded streams.[4][7]
Shadowdamsels have narrow wings and slender, elongated abdomens. Adults appear to disperse poorly, with many species known only from single localities or very restricted ranges, and additional undescribed species are thought to exist.[7]
Taxonomic history
Kennedy established the subfamily Platystictinae in 1920 to include the genera Platysticta, Palaemnema and Protosticta, recognising them as a distinct lineage based on morphological characters.[1]
In 1938, Tillyard and Fraser elevated the group to family rank as Platystictidae and recognised two subfamilies, Platystictinae and Palaemnematinae.[8]
Molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrated that Platystictidae is an early-diverging lineage of living damselflies, distinct from Coenagrionoidea. In 2013, Dijkstra and colleagues therefore recognised it as the sole extant family of the superfamily Platystictoidea, a classification subsequently supported by phylogenomic studies and, in 2026, retained by Carter and colleagues.[3][4][6]
Phylogeny
Relationship of Platystictoidea among living damselfly superfamilies, based on Carter et al. (2026).[6]
Genera
The following genera are currently placed in Platystictidae:[2]
- Ceylonosticta Fraser, 1931
- Drepanosticta Laidlaw, 1917
- Indosticta Bedjanic, 2016
- Palaemnema Selys, 1860
- Platysticta Selys, 1860
- Protosticta Selys, 1885
- Sinosticta Wilson, 1997
- Sulcosticta van Tol, 2005
- Telosticta Dow & Orr, 2012
- Yunnanosticta Dow & Zhang, 2018
Fossils
The fossil record of Platystictidae is sparse. One fossil genus has been described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar:[9]
- †Mesosticta Huang et al. 2015
Etymology
The superfamily name Platystictoidea is derived from the type genus Platysticta, with the standard zoological suffix -oidea used for animal superfamilies.
The family name Platystictidae is derived from the type genus Platysticta, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families.
The genus name Platysticta is presumably derived from the Greek πλατύς (platys, "broad") and στικτός (stiktos, "marked").[10] The name likely alludes to the broad pterostigma, the distinctive "wing mark" emphasised by Selys when he established the genus.[11]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Kennedy, C.H. (1920). "The phylogeny of the zygopterous dragonflies as based on the evidence of the penes". Ohio Journal of Science. 21 (1): 19–29 [24] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- 1 2 3 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 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; Trueman, John W.H.; Van Tol, Jan; von Ellenrieder, Natalia; Ware, Jessica (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. hdl:10072/61365. ISSN 1175-5334.
- 1 2 3 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 107115: 1–15. Bibcode:2021MolPE.16007115B. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107115. hdl:11093/2768. PMID 33609713.
- ↑ 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 3 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.
- 1 2 Paulson, Dennis (2009). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West. Princeton University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-4008-3294-1.
- ↑ Tillyard, R.J.; Fraser, F.C. (1938). "A reclassification of the order Odonata based on some new interpretations of the venation of the dragonfly wing. Part I". The Australian Zoologist. 9 (2): 125–169 [161] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ↑ "Paleobiology Database: Mesosticta". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1954). Composition of Scientific Words: A Manual of Methods and a Lexicon of Materials for the Practice of Logotechnics. [Washington].
- ↑ Selys Longchamps, Edmond de (1860). "Synopsis des Agrionines. Dernière légion: Protoneura". Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique. 2 (in French). 10 (9–10): 431–462 [433].
