COENAGRIONIDAE, Kirby, 1890

Mauffray, William F. & Tennessen, Kenneth J., 2019, A Catalogue and Historical Study of the Odonata of Ecuador, Zootaxa 4628 (1), pp. 1-265 : 29

COENAGRIONIDAE “Coenagrioninae” ( Kirby, 1890)

Coenagrionidae is the largest family of damselflies in the world with more than 130 genera and over 1200 species. These totals are based on recent molecular phylogenetic studies indicating that the Pseudostigmatidae and New World Protoneuridae belong in the Coenagrionidae ( Dijkstra et al. 2014) . As such, the family in the New World contains 71 genera and around 600 species. Most of the genera in the New World are endemic (>90%) to the Americas. These damselflies are extremely diverse in regard to size (total length ranging from 19 to 155 mm), color and color pattern, and they inhabit almost every type of water body, including lakes, ponds, ditches, streams, seepage areas and phytotelmata (water-containing tree holes and bromeliads). Much taxonomic and phylogenetic study remains to be done in this group.