Belongs within: Euodonata.
Contains: Calopterygoidea, Amphipterygida, Lestoidea, Isostictidae, Coenagrionidae.
The Zygoptera, damselflies, are a group of generally more delicate odonates with similar, often petiolate fore- and hind wings. Damselflies also have broad heads with widely separated eyes, a strongly oblique thorax allowing the wings to be closed towards the rear of the body, and nymphs with three terminal gills (Grimaldi & Engel 2005).
The basal division within the damselflies is between the clades Caloptera and Euzygoptera. The forewings possess a number of antenodal crossveins in the costal space in members of the Caloptera but the number of antenodal veins is reduced (usually to two) in Euzygoptera (Theischinger & Hawking 2006). The Caloptera are supported as a clade by basal recession of the midfork and an obsolete pterostigmal brace vein. The Eucaloptera, including most Caloptera except the Oligocene–Miocene European family Sieblosiidae, are also supported by their rectangular discoidal cell (Petrulevičius & Nel 2004).
Within the Euzygoptera, the Coenagrionoidea are characterised by an acute discoidal cell and short, braced pterostigma with wrinkled micro-sculpturing (Bechly 2012). Protoneuridae have CuP only one or two cells long (Theischinger & Hawking 2006). Hemiphlebia mirabilis is a tiny, metallic green damselfly found in south-eastern Australia that differs from other damselflies in having an open discoidal cell (lacking an arculus) and a CuP vein that is almost straight in the first cell past the discoidal cell (Theischinger & Hawking 2006). Lestoidea is a tropical Australian genus with the anterior section of the arculus forking about a third to half-way to the level of the subnodus (Theischinger & Hawking 2006).
Characters (Petrulevičius & Nel 2004): Wings with terminal kinks reduced in both CP and nodal furrow; tubular sclerotised canal of ScP along venter of postnodal costal margin obliterated; postnodal crossveins very numerous and dense; discoidal cell quadrangular, not divided into triangle and hypertriangle; vein RP2 distally displaced far from subnodus; CuA without secondary branching into CuAa and CuAb; oblique vein absent.
<==Zygoptera [Calopterygina]
| i. s.: Cretachistigma Jarzembowski et al. 1998PN04
| |--C. essweini Bechly 1998PN04
| `--C. greenwoodi Jarzembowski et al. 1998PN04
| Paraphlebia Hagen 1861PN04
| Philogenia Selys 1862PN04
| ArchilestesRD77
| |--A. californicaD72
| `--A. grandisRD77
|--CalopteraPN04
| |--StenolestesRJ93 [SieblosiidaePN04]
| | |--S. fischeri Nel 1986RJ93
| | `--S. hispanicus Nel 1991RJ93
| `--EucalopteraPN04
| |--CalopterygoideaPN04
| `--AmphipterygidaPN04
`--EuzygopteraGE05
|--+--LestoideaGE05
| `--Hemiphlebia [Hemiphlebiidae, Hemiphlebioidea]GE05
| `--H. mirabilis Selys 1869TH06
`--+--LestoideaTH06 [Lestoideidae, LestoideoideaGE05]
| |--L. barbarae Watson 1967TH06
| |--L. brevicauda Theischinger 1996TH06
| |--L. conjuncta Tillyard 1913TH06
| `--L. lewisiana Theischinger 1996TH06
`--Coenagrionoidea [Coenagrionomorpha]GE05
|--IsostictidaeWO91
|--PlatystictidaeWO91
|--CoenagrionidaeTH06
|--MegaloprepusGE05 [PseudostigmatidaeWO91]
| `--M. coerulatusRD77
|--Platycnemididae [Platycnemidae]FB03
| |--PlatycnemisE12
| | |--P. acutipennisL49
| | |--P. albidellaL49
| | |--P. dealbataP74
| | |--P. latipesL49
| | |--P. pennipesP74
| | |--P. platypodaL49
| | `--P. subdilatata de Selys 1847E12
| `--CoelicciaFB03
| |--C. cyanomelas Ris 1912FB03
| |--C. flavicaudaI92
| | |--C. f. flavicaudaI92
| | `--C. f. masakii Asahina 1951I92
| `--C. ryukyuensis Asahina 1951I92
| |--C. r. ryukyuensisI92
| `--C. r. amamii Asahina 1962I92
`--Protoneuridae [Protoneurinae]RP02
|--ProtonevraSL89
|--NotoneuraO70
|--Eoprotoneura hyperstigma Carle & Wighton 1990RJ93
`--NosostictaTH06
|--N. baroalba Watson & Theischinger 1984TH06
|--N. coelestina (Tillyard 1906)TH06
|--N. fraterna (Lieftinck 1933)TH06
|--N. kalumburu Watson & Theischinger 1984TH06
|--N. koolpinyah Watson & Theischinger 1984TH06
|--N. koongarra Watson & Theischinger 1984TH06
|--N. liveringa Watson & Theischinger 1984TH06
|--N. mouldsi Theischinger 2000TH06
|--N. pilbara Watson 1969TH06
|--N. solida (Hagen 1860)TH06
|--N. solitaria (Tillyard 1906)TH06
`--N. taracumbi Watson & Theischinger 1984TH06
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
Bechly, G. 2012. An interesting new fossil relict damselfly (Odonata: Zygoptera: Coenagrionoidea) from Eocene Baltic amber. Palaeodiversity 5: 51–55.
[D72] Davies, T. W. 1972. Oviposition of the California damsel fly, Archilestes californica MacLachlan. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 48 (1): 68–69.
[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.
[FB03] Fleck, G., G. Bechly, X. Martínez-Delclòs, E. Jarzembowski, R. Coram & A. Nel. 2003. Phylogeny and classification of the Stenophlebioptera (Odonata: Epiproctophora). Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France 39 (1): 55–93.
[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.
[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.
[L49] Lucas, H. 1849. Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie pendant les années 1840, 1841, 1842 publiée par ordre du gouvernement et avec le concours d’une commission académique. Sciences physiques. Zoologie. II. Histoire naturelle des animaux articulés. Troisième partie. Insectes (suite). Imprimerie Nationale: Paris.
[O70] O’Farrell, A. F. 1970. Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 241–261. Melbourne University Press.
[P74] Paulson, D. R. 1974. Reproductive isolation in damselflies. Systematic Zoology 23 (1): 40–49.
[PN04] Petrulevičius, J. F., & A. Nel. 2004. A new damselfly family from the Upper Palaeocene of Argentina. Palaeontology 47: 109–116.
[RP02] Rasnitsyn, A. P., & L. N. Pritykina. 2002. Superorder Libellulidea Laicharting, 1781. Order Odonata Fabricius, 1792. The dragonflies. In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 97–104. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.
[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms’ General Textbook of Entomology 10th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.
[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.
[SL89] Selys Longchamps, E. de. 1889. Odonates de Sumatra comprenant les espèces recueillies à Pulo Nias par M. le D.r E. Modigliani. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2a, 7: 444–484.
[TH06] Theischinger, G., & J. Hawking. 2006. The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood (Victoria).
[WO91] Watson, J. A. L., & A. F. O’Farrell. 1991. Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2nd ed. vol. 1 pp. 294–310. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).