Gomphidae

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Family of dragonflies

title: "Gomphidae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["gomphidae", "gomphoidea", "odonata-families", "taxa-named-by-jules-pierre-rambur", "insects-described-in-1842", "dragonflies"] description: "Family of dragonflies" topic_path: "general/gomphidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphidae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Family of dragonflies ::

| oldest_fossil = Cenomanian | image = Bladetail (Lindenia tetraphylla) male Macedonia.jpg | image_caption = Bladetail, male, Lindenia tetraphylla North Macedonia | parent_authority = Rambur, 1842 | taxon = Gomphidae | authority = Rambur, 1842 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = See text

The Gomphidae are a family of dragonflies commonly referred to as clubtails or club-tailed dragonflies. The family contains about 90 genera and 900 species found across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. The name refers to the club-like widening of the end of the abdomen (abdominal segments 7 through 9). However, this club is usually less pronounced in females and is entirely absent in some species.

Etymology

The name is from Greek gomphos, "bolt, nail", for the shape of the insect's abdomen.

Characteristics

Clubtails have small, widely separated compound eyes, a trait they share with the Petaluridae and with damselflies. The eyes are blue, turquoise, or green. The thorax in most species is pale with dark stripes, and the pattern of the stripes is often diagnostic. They lack the bright metallic colors of many dragonfly groups and are mostly cryptically colored to avoid detection and little difference between the sexes is seen. Adults are usually from 40 to in length; there are 6 specific variations that are native to Africa alone, and vary from 33 to in length; there are also 97 varieties specific to North America as well.

Clubtails are fast-flying dragonflies with short flight seasons. They spend much time at rest, perching in a suitable position to dart forth to prey on flying insects. They tend to perch on the ground or on leaves with the abdomen sloping up and its tip curling down a little. Larger species may perch with a drooping abdomen or lie flat on a leaf. Another stance adopted by clubtails perching in the open is "obelisking", standing with the abdomen raised vertically, a posture adopted otherwise only by the skimmers.

Most clubtails breed in streams, rivers, or lakes. The nymphs are unusual in having a flat mentum—part of the mouthparts—and their antennae have only four segments. They burrow in the sediment at the bottom of the water body, with the nymphs of the dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) living among damp bark and leaf litter at the edge of the water. Some larvae variations actually differ from this typical burrowing. Some will only come out during daytime, which differs from the predominant nighttime emergence. Some larvae also will lay on flat surfaces, whereas most larvae prefer a vertical-type surface.

Gallery

File:IC Gomphidae wing.jpg|Gomphidae wing structure: Note the similar-sized triangles of the front and hind wings and the widely separate eyes. File:Yellow striped hunter mating.jpg|Pair of yellow-striped hunters mating File:Common Clubtail (Ictinogomphus rapax) W IMG 0224.jpg|Common clubtail, Ictinogomphus rapax File:XN Gomphus vulgatissimus 689.jpg|Gomphus vulgatissimus, showing the "clubbed" abdomen characteristic of the family File:Gomphus vulgatissimus eyes 004b.jpg|The common clubtail Gomphus vulgatissimus head with widely separated eyes File:Lined Hooktail Paragomphus lineatus Male.jpg|Paragomphus lineatus, male File:Lined Hooktail Paragomphus lineatus Female.jpg|Paragomphus lineatus, female

Taxonomy

Gomphidae has over 80 genera and includes more than 900 species, and is the only family in the superfamily Gomphoidea.

Genera

These genera belong to the family Gomphidae.

Fossil genera

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Cordulagomphus_01.JPG" caption="Fossil specimen of ''[[Cordulagomphus]]''"] ::

References

References

  1. Rambur, Jules. (1842). "Histoire naturelle des insectes. Névroptères". Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret.
  2. [http://www.nhptv.org/wild/gomphidae.asp "New Hampshire PBS web article"]
  3. "Etymology". National Museums Ireland.
  4. Paulson, Dennis. (2009). "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West". Princeton University Press.
  5. "Gomphidae".
  6. "Genus Diastatomma Burmeister, 1839".
  7. John L. Capinera. (2008). "Encyclopedia of Entomology". Springer Science & Business Media.
  8. (2009). "Encyclopedia of Inland Waters".
  9. Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.. (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.
  10. {{World Odonata List
  11. Archibald, S. Bruce. (2019-10-21). "Fossil dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands, western North America". The Canadian Entomologist.
  12. Bechly, Günter. (2010). "Additions to the fossil dragonfly fauna from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil (Insecta: Odonata)". Palaeodiversity.
  13. Huang, Diying. (2019-03-01). "A possible true Mesozoic Gomphidae s. str. from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Odonata: Anisoptera)". Cretaceous Research.
  14. Nel, André. (2015-10-02). "A new family of 'libelluloid' dragonflies from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, northeastern China (Odonata: Anisoptera: Cavilabiata)". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
  15. Zheng, Daran. (2018-08-09). "A well-preserved true dragonfly (Anisoptera: Gomphides: Burmagomphidae fam. nov.) from Cretaceous Burmese amber". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
  16. Azar, Dany. (2023-08-01). "Libanogomphidae, a new extraordinary dragonfly family from the Upper Cretaceous of Lebanon (Odonata, Anisoptera)". Cretaceous Research.
  17. Zheng, Daran. (2018-12-01). "Paraburmagomphidae fam. nov., a new gomphid dragonfly family (Odonata: Anisoptera) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber". Cretaceous Research.
  18. (2016-03-18). "How to date a dragonfly: Fossil calibrations for odonates". Palaeontologia Electronica.

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