Platycnemis

Featherlegs
Platycnemis pennipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Family: Platycnemididae
Genus: Platycnemis
Burmeister, 1839[1]

Platycnemis is a genus of damselflies in the family Platycnemididae.[2] Species of Platycnemis occur across the Palearctic region, extending from western Europe through Asia.[3] Members of the genus are commonly known as featherlegs because of the distinctively broadened and often pale-coloured legs, especially in males.[4][5]

Description

Platycnemis are slender damselflies with relatively broad wings and conspicuously expanded tibiae on the middle and hind legs.[4][6] In many species the tibiae are white or pale blue and are used in courtship displays.[6] Adults are typically found along streams, rivers and other freshwater habitats.[3]

Taxonomic history

The genus was established by Burmeister in 1839 and subsequently diagnosed in detail by Charpentier (1840), who designated Platycnemis pennipes as the type species and derived the name from the Greek words for "broad" and "shin".[1][4] Early classifications placed Platycnemis within a distinct group of damselflies characterised by broadened tibiae. Jacobson and Bianchi (1905) recognised a subfamily Platycnemidinae containing Platycnemis and Psilocnemis.[7]

Fraser (1957) treated Platycnemis as the type genus of the subfamily Platycnemininae and contrasted it with a more heterogeneous assemblage of genera placed in Calicneminae.[6] Molecular studies later confirmed that Platycnemis belongs within the core lineage of Platycnemididae and remains the type genus of the family.[3][8]

Etymology

The genus name Platycnemis is derived from the Greek πλατύς (platys, "broad" or "flat") and κνημίς (knēmis, "leg" or "shin"), referring to the expanded tibiae characteristic of many species.[4]

Species

The following species are currently placed in Platycnemis:[2]

  • Platycnemis acutipennis Selys, 1841 – Orange Featherleg[9]
  • Platycnemis dealbata Selys in Selys & Hagen, 1850 – Ivory featherleg[10]
  • Platycnemis echigoana Asahina, 1955
  • Platycnemis foliacea Selys, 1886
  • Platycnemis kervillei (Martin, 1909) – Powdered featherleg,[10] Kerville's featherleg[11]
  • Platycnemis latipes Rambur, 1842 – White featherleg[9][10]
  • Platycnemis oedipus (von Eichwald, 1830)
  • Platycnemis pennipes (Pallas, 1771) – Blue featherleg,[9] White-legged Damselfly[12]
  • Platycnemis phasmovolans Hämäläinen, 2003
  • Platycnemis phyllopoda Djakonov, 1926
  • Platycnemis sasakii Asahina, 1949
  • Platycnemis subdilatata Selys, 1849 – Barbary featherleg[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Burmeister, Hermann (1839). "Libellulina". Handbuch der Entomologie (in Latin and German). Vol. 2. Berlin: T.C.F. Enslin. pp. 805-862 [822] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ a b c 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.
  4. ^ a b c d Charpentier, Toussaint von (1840). Libellulinae Europaeae descriptae ac depictae (in Latin). Leipzig: Leopold Voss. pp. 180 [21].
  5. ^ Silsby, Jill (2001). Dragonflies of the World. CSIRO Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 0643065121.
  6. ^ a b c Fraser, F.C. (1957). A reclassification of the order Odonata. Handbook / Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales; 12. Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. pp. 133 [46].
  7. ^ Jacobson, G. G.; Bianchi, V. L. (1905). Orthoptera and Pseudoneuroptera of the Russian Empire and bordering countries [Прямокрылые и ложносетчатокрылые Российской империи и сопредельных стран] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: A.F. Devrien. pp. 952 [725, 831]. ISBN 978-5-4460-2061-4. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c "Checklist, English common names". DragonflyPix.com. Retrieved 5 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ a b c d "Checklist of Odonata". eimagesite.net. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  11. ^ Schneider, W. (2010). "Platycnemis kervillei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010 e.T158699A5263488. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T158699A5263488.en. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  12. ^ Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B. (2006). Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. British Wildlife Publishing. ISBN 0-9531399-4-8.
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