Protoneura Selys in Sagra, 1857

Ellenrieder, Natalia Von & Garrison, Rosser W., 2017, A synopsis of the Neotropical genus Protoneura (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), Zootaxa 4361 (1), pp. 1-76 : 5

Protoneura Selys in Sagra, 1857

Protoneura Selys in Sagra, 1857: 200 (470 French edition). Type species: Agrion capillare Rambur, 1842 [by monotypy]

syn Microneura Hagen in Selys, 1886: 206

Type species: Microneura caligata Hagen in Selys, 1886 [by monotypy]

Slender medium-sized coenagrionids (TL males 32–53.5 mm; females 30–45 mm); with narrow wings (1/7 or more as wide as long); usually with dark areas with metallic green or copper reflections, and pale areas red, orange, yellow, blue or green ( Figs. 1–46). Frons angulate or rounded in profile; dorsal surface of antennifer carinate and its anterior surface flat. Posterior margin of pronotum smoothly rounded in males, in females entire or trilobed, directed posteriorly, dorsally or anterodorsally ( Figs. 50c; 54a; 59b; 60b; 63a; 67a, c). Antenodal space 1 about twice the length of 2, shared with Neoneura Selys, 1860 , and longer than 3; CuA and CuP&AA completely fused to wing margin; MP short, reaching wing margin at vein descending from subnodus or within the basal 1/2 of first cell posterior to it; IR2 arising at vein descending from subnodus; divergence of RP-RA (arculus) distal to antenodal 2; RP 2 in Fw beginning closer to postnodal crossveins 4–7 and in Hw closer to postnodal crossveins 4, 5; pterostigma from slightly shorter to slightly longer than underlying cell, with its costal side shorter to longer than its posterior side. Genital ligula with or without lateral spines on basal segment; always with an inner fold basal to flexure ( Figs. 71–96b) and lacking inner process distal to flexure; laterodistal corners usually projected into short reflected processes ( Figs. 71b; 73–78b; 81– 86b; 90–93b) but sometimes not projected ( Figs. 72b; 79–80b; 87–89b); usually without lateral lobes between flexure and distal corners ( Figs. 71–89b; 93b), but lateral lobes, from slightly insinuated ( Fig. 90) to small ( Figs. 91; 92) present in P. tenuis Selys, 1860 , and well developed in P. woytkowskii Gloyd, 1939 ( Figs. 94–96); tip of distal segment usually straight or slightly concave or convex ( Figs. 71–93), but strongly projected into a strap-like extension in P. woytkowskii Gloyd, 1939 ( Figs. 94–96). Male cercus in lateral view shorter to longer than S10 ( Figs. 97–118a), with a ventrobasal process or tooth, a mediobasal process present or absent, and zero, one or two apical processes or teeth ( Figs. 97–118b, c). Male paraproct slightly shorter to much longer than cercus ( Figs. 97–118a, c). Epiproct small and rounded, no longer than wide ( Figs. 97–118b). Distal portion of female abdomen, from about midsection of S6 to tip, widened to about twice its basal width ( Figs. 25–46); tip of ovipositor (excluding stylus) not reaching to surpassing postero-dorsal margin of S10, but never surpassing tips of cerci.