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.
Etymology The genus name Orthetrum is derived from the Greek ὀρθός (orthos, "straight") and ἦτρον (ētron, "abdomen"), referring to the parallel-sided abdomen of the genus.
Species The genus Orthetrum includes the following species:
Scientific nameCommon nameIUCN Red List StatusDistributionPicture (Male)Picture (Female)Orthetrum abbotti Calvert, 1892Abbott's skimmerSub-Saharan Africa, Jordan and Yemen.Orthetrum africanum (Selys, 1887)Central and Western AfricaOrthetrum albistylum Selys, 1848White-tailed skimmerEurope to China and Japan Orthetrum angustiventre (Rambur, 1842)Many-celled skimmerAngola, 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. Orthetrum austeni (Kirby, 1900)Giant skimmerAngola, 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, 1953Orthetrum azureum (Rambur, 1842)MadagascarOrthetrum balteatum Lieftinck, 1933Speckled skimmerOrthetrum borneense Kimmins, 1936Orthetrum boumiera Watson & Arthington, 1978Brownwater skimmerOrthetrum brachiale (Palisot de Beauvois, 1805)Tough skimmerAngola, 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 PríncipeOrthetrum brunneum (Fonscolombe, 1837)Southern skimmerEurope and the range extends to Mongolia and North Africa.Orthetrum caffrum (Burmeister, 1839)Two-striped skimmer, white-lined skimmerAngola, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, and possibly GambiaOrthetrum caledonicum (Brauer, 1865)Blue skimmerOrthetrum cancellatum (Linnaeus, 1758)Black-tailed skimmerAlbania, 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 KingdomOrthetrum capense Calvert, 1893Orthetrum chrysis (Selys, 1891)Orthetrum chrysostigma (Burmeister, 1839)Epaulet skimmerAlgeria, 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, ZimbabweOrthetrum coerulescens (Fabricius, 1798)Keeled skimmer 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 AsiaOrthetrum guineense Ris, 1909 Guinea skimmerAngola, 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 BurundiOrthetrum guptai Baijal, 1955Orthetrum helena Buchholz, 1954Orthetrum hintzi Schmidt, 1951Hintz's skimmerAngola, 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 BurundiOrthetrum icteromelas Ris, 1910Spectacled skimmerAngola, 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 BurundiOrthetrum japonicum (Uhler, 1858)Taiwan-shioya-tomboOrthetrum julia Kirby, 1900Julia skimmerAngola, 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 MadagascarOrthetrum kollmannspergeri Buchholz, 1959Orthetrum kristenseni Ris, 1911EthiopiaOrthetrum latihami Pinhey, 1966Central AfricaOrthetrum lemur Ris, 1909Orthetrum lineostigma (Selys, 1886)Orthetrum luzonicum (Brauer, 1868)Orthetrum machadoi Longfield, 1955Machado's skimmerAngola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly BurundiOrthetrum macrostigma Longfield, 1947Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and possibly ZambiaOrthetrum malgassicum Pinhey, 1970Orthetrum martensi Asahina, 1978Orthetrum melania (Selys, 1883)Orthetrum microstigma Ris, 1911Angola, 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 ZambiaOrthetrum migratum Lieftinck, 1951Rosy skimmerOrthetrum monardi Schmidt, 1951Angola, 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 ZambiaOrthetrum nitidinerve (Selys, 1841)Yellow-veined skimmerNorth Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, Naples and SicilyOrthetrum poecilops Ris, 1916Mangrove skimmerOrthetrum pruinosum (Burmeister, 1839)Crimson-tailed marsh hawkOrthetrum ransonnetii (Brauer, 1865)Desert skimmerWestern Sahara, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Algeria, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, United Arab EmiratesOrthetrum robustum Balinsky, 1965 Robust skimmerOrthetrum rubens Barnard, 1937Elusive skimmerSouth AfricaOrthetrum sabina (Drury, 1770)Slender skimmerOrthetrum saegeri Pinhey, 1966Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Togo, Uganda, and ZambiaOrthetrum sagitta Ris, 1915Arrow skimmerSierra LeoneOrthetrum serapia Watson, 1984Green skimmerOrthetrum signiferum Lieftinck, 1926Orthetrum silvarum Lieftinck, 1934Orthetrum stemmale (Burmeister, 1839)Stemmale skimmerAngola, 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 BurundiOrthetrum taeniolatum (Schneider, 1845)Small skimmerOrthetrum testaceum (Burmeister, 1839)India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.Orthetrum translatum Bartenev, 1929Orthetrum triangulare (Selys, 1878) Blue-tailed forest hawkOrthetrum trinacria (Selys, 1841)Long skimmerAlgeria, 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 BurundiOrthetrum villosovittatum (Brauer, 1868)Fiery skimmer
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