Trithemis is a genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. They are commonly known as dropwings. There are over 40 species, mainly from Africa; two are endemic to Madagascar, and five can be found in Asia. They are found in a wide variety of habitats; some species being adapted to permanent streams in forests, and others being capable of breeding in temporary pools in deserts.
Species The genus contains the following species: Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution Trithemis aconita monkshood dropwing, halfshade dropwing Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi Trithemis aenea bronze dropwingWestern and Central Africa. Trithemis aequalis swamp dropwing Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. Trithemis africana western phantom dropwingWestern and Central Africa, in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. Trithemis annulata violet dropwing, violet-marked darterAfrica, in the Middle East, in the Arabian Peninsula and southern Europe. Trithemis anomala striped dropwingZambia Trithemis arteriosa red-veined dropwingAlgeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Crete, Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Territory, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Trithemis aurora crimson marsh glider Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Trithemis basitincta Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone Trithemis bifida shadow dropwingDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Tanzania. Trithemis bredoi river dropwing Gondokoro, Sudan Trithemis brydeni percher-like dropwing Botswana and Zambia. Trithemis congolica Congo dropwingDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon Trithemis dejouxi stonewash dropwingBenin, Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Republic of Guinea Trithemis dichroa small dropwing, black dropwingAngola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. Trithemis donaldsoni denim dropwing Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Trithemis dorsalis round-hook dropwing, highland dropwing Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, and possibly Malawi Trithemis ellenbeckii Ethiopian dropwing Ethiopia. Trithemis festiva indigo dropwing, black stream gliderGreece, Cyprus and Turkey, throughout Asia to New Guinea Trithemis fumosa Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon Trithemis furva navy dropwingAngola, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Trithemis grouti black dropwing, dark dropwingAngola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia. Trithemis hartwigi superb dropwing Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Trithemis hecate silhouette dropwing, hecate dropwingBotswana, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Trithemis hinnula mule dropwingGabon Trithemis imitata copycat dropwingDemocratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Trithemis integra Albertine dropwingAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Uganda Trithemis kalula pretty dropwingBurkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinee-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Republic of Guinea, Sierra Leone Trithemis kirbyi orange-winged dropwing, Kirby's dropwingAlgeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinee-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Trithemis legrandi robust dropwing Cameroon, Gabon Trithemis lilacina Indonesia Trithemis longistyla Democratic Republic of the Congo Trithemis monardi Monard's dropwing, fluttering dropwing Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Trithemis morrisoni rapids dropwing Namibia, Zambia Trithemis nigra São Tomé and Príncipe Trithemis nuptialis hairy-legged dropwingAngola, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia Trithemis osvaldae Cameroon, Gabon Trithemis pallidinervis long-legged marsh glider Asia Trithemis palustris marsh dropwingNamibia Trithemis persephone Madagascar Trithemis pluvialis riffle-and-reed dropwing, river dropwing, russet dropwingAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Trithemis pruinata cobalt dropwingAngola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Republic of Guinea, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia Trithemis selika Madagascar Trithemis stictica jaunty dropwingAngola, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Trithemis werneri elegant dropwing Angola, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi.
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