Summary ⁶

The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Even if these are excluded (as Silsby does), there still remains a family of over 1000 species. With nearly worldwide distribution, these are almost certainly the most often seen of all dragonflies.

Etymology ⁷

The family name may have been derived from the Latin libella which means "booklet".

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Eugene Zelenko, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/22718808@N00/5905443301
2. (c) Charos Pix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/98609459@N08/48411912612/
3. (c) satish nikam, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwwssncomphotos/50765824741/
4. (c) Stan Lupo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanlupophotography/50147206131/
5. (c) westpark, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/west-park/3571024052/
6. Adapted by Greenpigeonsnaturelk from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellulidae
7. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellulidae

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Rowe (1987) Dragonflies of New Zealand

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