CALOPTERYGIDAE Selys, 1850

Mauffray, William F. & Tennessen, Kenneth J., 2019, A Catalogue and Historical Study of the Odonata of Ecuador, Zootaxa 4628 (1), pp. 1-265 : 24

CALOPTERYGIDAE Selys, 1850

Large damselflies partly metallic red, purple or green that inhabit flowing water. Adults perch with the wings together over the abdomen. The nymphs are long-legged, antennal segment 1 is as long as the rest of the antenna, and lateral caudal gills are long and triangular in cross section. Traditionally, all species in Ecuador were placed in two genera ( Hetaerina and Mnesarete ); Garrison (1990) added Ormenophlebia . A recent molecular and morphological study indicates that all the species that have been placed in these genera are congeneric (Seth Bybee, pers. comm.); however, taxonomic problems with the higher classification of these taxa remain, and Rosser Garrison (pers. comm.) maintains that Ormenophlebia is a valid genus.