Ischnura is a genus of damselflies known as forktails (or sometimes bluetails) in the family Coenagrionidae.[2]
Forktails are distributed worldwide, including various oceanic islands. The males have a forked projection at the tip of the abdomen which gives the group their common name.[3]
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Forktails are small or very small damselflies. The compound eyes of mature individuals have a dark upper region and contrasting lower part. The thorax is often green and may have lateral stripes and the abdomen in males is black with a blue tip. Females of some species are polymorphic, some being orangish and darkening with age, while others resemble the male.[3]
The genus Ischnura includes the following species:[4][5]
- Ischnura abyssinica Martin, 1908
- Ischnura acuticauda Lieftinck, 1959
- Ischnura albistigma Fraser, 1927
- Ischnura aralensis Haritonov, 1979
- Ischnura ariel Lieftinck, 1949
- Ischnura asiatica (Brauer, 1865) – Redtail[6]
- Ischnura aurora Brauer, 1865 – Aurora bluetail[6]
- Ischnura barberi Currie, 1903 – Desert forktail[7]
- Ischnura buxtoni Fraser, 1927
- Ischnura capreolus (Hagen, 1861)
- Ischnura cardinalis Kimmins, 1929
- Ischnura cervula Selys, 1876 – Pacific forktail[7]
- Ischnura chingaza Realpe, 2010
- Ischnura chromostigma Fraser, 1927
- Ischnura cruzi De Marmels, 1987
- Ischnura cyane Realpe, 2010
- Ischnura damula Calvert, 1902 – Plains forktail[8]
- Ischnura demorsa (Hagen, 1861) – Mexican forktail[8]
- Ischnura denticollis (Burmeister, 1839) – Black-fronted forktail[7][9]
- Ischnura dorothea Fraser, 1924
- Ischnura elegans (vanderLinden, 1823) – Blue-tailed damselfly[10]
- Ischnura erratica Calvert, 1895 – Swift forktail[7]
- Ischnura evansi Morton, 1919 – Blue-banded damsel[citation needed]
- Ischnura ezoin (Asahina, 1952)
- Ischnura filosa Schmidt, 1951
- Ischnura fluviatilis Selys, 1876
- Ischnura forcipata Morton, 1907
- Ischnura fountaineae Morton, 1905 – Oasis bluetail[11]
- Ischnura gemina (Kennedy, 1917) – San Francisco forktail[7]
- Ischnura genei (Rambur, 1842) – Island bluetail[11]
- Ischnura graellsii (Rambur, 1842) – Iberian bluetail[11]
- Ischnura haemastigma Fraser, 1927
- Ischnura hastata (Say, 1839) – Citrine forktail[7]
- Ischnura heterosticta (Burmeister, 1839) – Common bluetail[6]
- Ischnura inarmata Calvert, 1898
- Ischnura indivisa (Ris, 1918)
- Ischnura intermedia Dumont 1974
- Ischnura isoetes Lieftinck, 1949
- Ischnura karafutonis Matsumura, 1931[citation needed]
- Ischnura kellicotti Williamson, 1898 – Lilypad forktail[12]
- Ischnura luta Polhemus, Asquith & Miller, 2000
- Ischnura ordosi Bartenev, 1912
- Ischnura pamelae Vick & Davies, 1988
- Ischnura perparva Selys, 1876 – Western forktail[7][12]
- Ischnura posita (Hagen, 1861) – Fragile forktail[9][12]
- Ischnura prognata (Hagen, 1861) – Furtive forktail[12]
- Ischnura pruinescens (Tillyard, 1906) – Colourful bluetail[6]
- Ischnura pumilio (Charpentier, 1825) – Small bluetail or scarce blue-tailed damselfly[10]
- Ischnura ramburii (Selys, 1850) – Rambur's forktail[7]
- Ischnura rhodosoma Lieftinck, 1959
- Ischnura rubella Navás, 1934
- Ischnura rufostigma Selys, 1876
- Ischnura rufovittata (Blanchard, 1843)
- Ischnura saharensis Aguesse, 1958 – Sahara bluetail[13]
- Ischnura sanguinostigma Fraser, 1953
- Ischnura senegalensis (Rambur, 1842) – Marsh bluetail[14]
- Ischnura spinicauda Brauer, 1865
- Ischnura stueberi Lieftinck, 1932
- Ischnura taitensis Selys, 1876
- Ischnura thelmae Lieftinck, 1966
- Ischnura ultima Ris, 1908
- †Ischnura velteni Bechly, 2000 [15]
- Ischnura verticalis (Say, 1839) – Eastern forktail[9][12]
- Ischnura vinsoni Fraser, 1949
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ischnura.
Günther Theischinger; John Hawking (2006). The complete field guide to dragonflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0-643-09073-8.
Abbott, John (2008). Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of Texas, Vol 3. Odonata Survey of Texas. ISBN 978-0-615-19494-3.
Toussaint, E. F. A.; Bybee, S. M.; Erickson, R. J.; Condamine, F. L. (8 February 2019). "Forest giants on different evolutionary branches: Ecomorphological convergence in helicopter damselflies". Evolution. 73 (5): 1045–1054. doi:10.1111/evo.13695. PMID 30734925. S2CID 73426853.