Orthetrum

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title: "Orthetrum" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["libellulidae", "anisoptera-genera", "odonata-of-africa", "odonata-of-asia", "odonata-of-australia", "taxa-named-by-edward-newman"] description: "Genus of dragonflies" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthetrum" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of dragonflies ::

|name=Skimmers |image=Orthetrum chrysostigma.jpg |image_caption=Female Orthetrum chrysostigma |taxon=Orthetrum |authority=Newman, 1833

Orthetrum is a large genus of dragonflies in the Libellulidae family. They are commonly referred to as skimmers.

The size of adults within the genus ranges from small to large; in Africa, the hindwing ranges in length from 22 to 50 mm. The bodies of adult females and recently emerged males are yellow to brown with black markings; these may facilitate identification of individuals to species level. Mature males, however, develop blue-grey pruinosity over most of their bodies - this makes species identification difficult without the capture of a specimen and inspection of the shape of the hamule.

Species

The genus Orthetrum includes the following species:

::data[format=table]

Scientific name	Common name	IUCN Red List Status	Distribution	Picture (Male)	Picture (Female)
Orthetrum abbotti
Calvert, 1892	Abbott's skimmer		Sub-Saharan Africa, Jordan and Yemen.	[[File:Orthetrum abbotti 007672-2.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum africanum
(Selys, 1887)			Central and Western Africa		[[File:Orthetrum africanum Selys, 1887 2432760872.jpg
Orthetrum albistylum
Selys, 1848	title=Checklist, English common names	url=http://www.dragonflypix.com/checklist.html	publisher=DragonflyPix.com	access-date=5 August 2010	archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204160258/http://www.dragonflypix.com/checklist.html
Orthetrum anceps
(Schneider, 1845)		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Europe, India, and northern Africa
Orthetrum angustiventre
(Rambur, 1842)	Many-celled skimmer		Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and possibly Tanzania.		[[File:Many-celled Skimmer imported from iNaturalist photo 247192393 on 14 February 2024.jpg
Orthetrum austeni
(Kirby, 1900)	Giant skimmer		Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
Orthetrum austrosundanum
Lieftinck, 1953		{{IUCN status	VU	1}}
Orthetrum azureum
(Rambur, 1842)		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Madagascar
Orthetrum balteatum
Lieftinck, 1933	Speckled skimmer		[[File:Orthetrum balteatum distribution map.svg	180px]]
Orthetrum borneense
Kimmins, 1936
Orthetrum boumiera
Watson & Arthington, 1978	Brownwater skimmer		[[File:Orthetrum boumiera distribution map.svg	180px]]	[[File:Male Orthetrum boumiera 3 (49698320851).jpg
Orthetrum brachiale
(Palisot de Beauvois, 1805)	Tough skimmer		Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Réunion, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, and possibly São Tomé and Príncipe	[[File:Tough Skimmer Orthetrum brachiale 6484.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum brunneum
(Fonscolombe, 1837)	Southern skimmer		Europe and the range extends to Mongolia and North Africa.	[[File:Southern skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) male Bulgaria.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum caffrum
(Burmeister, 1839)	Two-striped skimmer, white-lined skimmer		Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, and possibly Gambia	[[File:Orthetrum caffrum TWO-STRIPED SKIMMER.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum caledonicum
(Brauer, 1865)	Blue skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	[[File:Orthetrum caledonicum distribution map.svg
Orthetrum cancellatum
(Linnaeus, 1758)	Black-tailed skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (Corsica, and mainland), Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey (Turkey-in-Europe), Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and in part of United Kingdom
Orthetrum capense
Calvert, 1893		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum chrysis
(Selys, 1891)		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum chrysostigma
(Burmeister, 1839)	Epaulet skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Orthetrum coerulescens
(Fabricius, 1798)	Keeled skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; France; Georgia; Greece; Hungary; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Ireland; Italy; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Tunisia; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom.
Orthetrum glaucum
(Brauer, 1865)	Blue marsh hawk		tropical and subtropical Asia	[[File:Orthetrum glaucum-Silent Valley-2016-08-14-002.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum guineense
Ris, 1909	Guinea skimmer		Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi
Orthetrum guptai
Baijal, 1955		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum helena
Buchholz, 1954		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum hintzi
Schmidt, 1951	Hintz's skimmer		Angola, Benin, Botswana, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi
Orthetrum icteromelas
Ris, 1910	Spectacled skimmer		Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi	[[File:Spectacled skimmer (Orthetrum icteromelas) male.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum japonicum
(Uhler, 1858)	Taiwan-shioya-tombo	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum julia
Kirby, 1900	Julia skimmer		Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, and possibly Madagascar	[[File:Julia skimmer dragonfly (Orthetrum julia) male.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum kollmannspergeri
Buchholz, 1959
Orthetrum kristenseni
Ris, 1911			Ethiopia
Orthetrum latihami
Pinhey, 1966			Central Africa
Orthetrum lemur
Ris, 1909
Orthetrum lineostigma
(Selys, 1886)
Orthetrum luzonicum
(Brauer, 1868)				[[File:Tri-coloured Marsh Hawk Orthetrum luzonicum Male by kadavoor.JPG	180px]]
Orthetrum machadoi
Longfield, 1955	Machado's skimmer		Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi	[[File:Orthetrum machadoi, highland skimmer 33117-1.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum macrostigma
Longfield, 1947		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and possibly Zambia
Orthetrum malgassicum
Pinhey, 1970		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum martensi
Asahina, 1978		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum melania
(Selys, 1883)		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum microstigma
Ris, 1911		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
Orthetrum migratum
Lieftinck, 1951	Rosy skimmer		[[File:Orthetrum migratum distribution map.svg	180px]]	[[File:Orthetrum migratum 3239.jpg
Orthetrum monardi
Schmidt, 1951		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
Orthetrum nitidinerve
(Selys, 1841)	Yellow-veined skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, Naples and Sicily
Orthetrum poecilops
Ris, 1916	Mangrove skimmer	{{IUCN status	VU	1}}
Orthetrum pruinosum
(Burmeister, 1839)	Crimson-tailed marsh hawk	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum ransonnetii
(Brauer, 1865)	Desert skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Western Sahara, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Algeria, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates
Orthetrum robustum
Balinsky, 1965	Robust skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum rubens
Barnard, 1937	Elusive skimmer		South Africa		[[File:Orthetrum rubens Barnard, 1937 2557742760.jpg
Orthetrum sabina
(Drury, 1770)	Slender skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	[[File:Orthetrum sabina distribution map.svg
Orthetrum saegeri
Pinhey, 1966		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia
Orthetrum sagitta
Ris, 1915	Arrow skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Sierra Leone
Orthetrum serapia
Watson, 1984	Green skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	[[File:Orthetrum serapia distribution map.svg
Orthetrum signiferum
Lieftinck, 1926		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum silvarum
Lieftinck, 1934		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum stemmale
(Burmeister, 1839)	Stemmale skimmer		Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi	[[File:Male Orthetrum stemmale 004990-1.jpg	180px]]
Orthetrum taeniolatum
(Schneider, 1845)	Small skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	author =Mitra, A.	title = Orthetrum taeniolatum
Orthetrum testaceum
(Burmeister, 1839)		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Orthetrum translatum
Bartenev, 1929		{{IUCN status	LC	1}}
Orthetrum triangulare
(Selys, 1878)	last=Subramanian	first=K. A.	title=Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India	year=2005	url=http://www.ias.ac.in/initiat/sci_ed/lifescape/odonates-dragonflies.pdf}}
Orthetrum trinacria
(Selys, 1841)	Long skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, France (Corsica), Gambia, Ghana, Italy (Sicily and Sardinia), Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi
Orthetrum villosovittatum
(Brauer, 1868)	Fiery skimmer	{{IUCN status	LC	1}}	[[File:Orthetrum villosovittatum distribution map.svg
::

Notes

References

References

1. Newman, Edward. (1833). "Entomological notes". Entomological Magazine.
2. (2012). "Genus ''Orthetrum'' Newman, 1833". [[Australian Biological Resources Study]].
3. "ADDO -- African Dragonflies and Damselflies Online".
4. "World Odonata List". [[University of Puget Sound]].
5. "The dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Jordan". Denisia.
6. Clausnitzer, V.. (2010). "''Orthetrum africanum''".
7. "Checklist, English common names". DragonflyPix.com.
8. Clausnitzer, V.. (2020). "''Orthetrum albistylum''".
9. Boudot, J.-P.. (2013). "''Orthetrum coerulescens ssp. anceps''".
10. [http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/9696016 Catalogue of Life]. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
11. Clausnitzer, V.. (2010). "''Orthetrum angustiventre''".
12. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum austeni''".
13. Dow, R.A.. (2021). "''Orthetrum austrosundanum''".
14. (2006). "The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia". CSIRO Publishing.
15. Dow, R.A.. (2017). "''Orthetrum balteatum''".
16. Dow, R.A.. (2017). "''Orthetrum boumiera''".
17. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum brachiale''".
18. "Orthetrum brunneum (Fonscolombe, 1837) | Fauna Europaea".
19. Suhling, F.. (2008). "''Orthetrum caffrum''".
20. Dow, R.A.. (2017). "''Orthetrum caledonicum''".
21. Mitra, A.. (2020). "''Orthetrum cancellatum''".
22. (2009). "''Orthetrum glaucum''".
23. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum guineense''".
24. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum hintzi''".
25. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum icteromelas''".
26. Subramanian, K.A. (2010). "Orthetrum japonicum".
27. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum julia''".
28. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum machadoi''".
29. Hawking, J.. (2009). "''Orthetrum migratum''".
30. Wilson, K. D. P.. (2009). "''Orthetrum poecilops''".
31. Sharma, G.. (2010). "''Orthetrum pruinosum''".
32. Suhling, F.. (2010). "''Orthetrum robustum''".
33. Samways, M.J.. (2007). "''Orthetrum rubens''".
34. Clausnitzer, V.. (2010). "''Orthetrum sagitta''".
35. Clausnitzer, V.. (2009). "''Orthetrum stemmale''".
36. Mitra, A.. (2013). "''Orthetrum taeniolatum''".
37. Wilson, K.D.P.. (2011). "''Orthetrum testaceum''".
38. Subramanian, K. A.. (2005). "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India".
39. (2010). "''Orthetrum triangulare''".
40. Dow, R.A.. (2017). "''Orthetrum villosovittatum''".

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