The classification and diversity of extant dragonflies and damselflies
(Odonata)

The classification and diversity of extant dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) 00

Payton Carter^a , Aaron Goodman^b , John Abbott^c , Cornelio Bota Sierra^d , Seth M. Bybee^a, Rory A. Dow^e,o , Judicael Fomekong Lontchi^a, Paul B. Frandsen^f , Laura Gonzalez Mozo^a , Rob Guralnick^g, Matti Hämäläinen^e , Shantanu Joshi^h , Manpreet K Kohliⁱ, Pungki Lupiyaningdyah^a,n, Katherine Montana^b , Lacie Newton^b , Violet Onsongo^b , Albert G. Orr^j , Ângelo Parise Pinto^k , Melissa Sanchez-Herrera^b,c , Laura N. Sutherland^a , Gunther Theischinger^l , Jessica L. Ware^b , Haomiao Zhang^m , Vincent J. Kalkman^d ✉️

Department of Biology and Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
The University of Alabama Museums Research and Collections, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
Grupo de entomología Universidad de Antioquia (GEUA), Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. Calle 67 #53-108, PC050010
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences and Bean Life Sciences Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Baruch College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
Departamento de Zoologia, Laboratory of Systematics on Aquatic Insects (LABSIA), Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Australian Museum, Entomology, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China
Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, Research Organization of Life Sciences and Environment, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong, West Java 16911, Indonesia
Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia

International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 29, Pages 95-124, 2026

https://doi.org/10.48156/1388.2026.1917385

Published: 1 June 2026 (Received: 15 April 2026, Accepted: 17 April 2026)

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Abstract

We present an updated classification for extant dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) and summarize new insights gained over the past two decades. Our focus is on taxa of family-level and higher and we indicate subfamilies only when their monophyly is currently undisputed and well-supported by phylogenetic analyses. The superfamily Calopterygoidea was known to be polyphyletic and based on recent phylogenomic data is divided into nine superfamilies, of which eight are recognized for the first time (Amphipterygoidea stat. nov., Euphaeoidea stat. nov., Megapodagrionoidea stat. nov., Mesopodagrionoidea stat. nov., Philogangoidea stat. nov., Polythoroidea stat. nov., Priscagrionoidea stat. nov., Tatocnemidoidea stat. nov.). At present, midway through 2025, odonates are divided into three suborders, 17 superfamilies, 55 families and 687 genera containing 6447 species (May 1, 2025). We give an overview of the distribution of the families across major biogeographical realms. Except for Amanipodagrionidae, nymphs of at least some of the species of all families are known. Our understanding of the classification of dragonflies and damselflies has greatly improved in the past two decades largely due to phylogenetic inferences based on molecular studies. We expect that in the next few years the last remaining issues regarding the higher-level phylogeny and classification, including the position of the South American genus Sciotropis and the division into subfamilies of families such as Coenagrionidae, Aeshnidae, Gomphidae and Libellulidae, will be better refined by the acquisition of additional morphological and genomic data.

Keywords: Biogeography, nomenclature, superfamilies

Amphipterygoidea

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0657A466-39E0-4C34-9A57-98B6421CA37C

Euphaeoidea

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:DB2FC7B3-24AE-4941-99B1-B24ECB75EC65

Megapodagrionoidea

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8B731434-A8F2-49E8-9E78-840A4BF4A0B4

Mesopodagrionoidea

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F44AEE7F-0DC4-4179-A48F-667B2BB8FF54

Philogangoidea

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:DF9D339A-3714-43BE-B273-027514FAEE1B

Polythoroidea