Lestoidea is a superfamily of damselflies comprising the families Hemiphlebiidae, Lestidae, Perilestidae and Synlestidae. Members occur on every continent except Antarctica, with greatest diversity in tropical and temperate regions.
Studies of damselfly evolution indicate Lestoidea as an ancient lineage that is the sister group to all other living damselflies, making it the earliest-diverging extant damselfly lineage.
Taxonomic history In 1901, Calvert established the superfamily Lestoidea for damselflies related to the genus Lestes.
Modern phylogenetic studies have consistently supported Lestoidea as a distinct evolutionary lineage comprising the families Hemiphlebiidae, Lestidae, Perilestidae and Synlestidae.
Historically, some classifications also included Lestoideidae within Lestoidea. In 2026, that family was transferred to the newly recognised superfamily Euphaeoidea, leaving the four extant families recognised today.
Phylogeny
Relationships among living damselfly superfamilies, based on Carter et al. (2026).
Families The following families are currently placed in Lestoidea: Hemiphlebiidae Kennedy, 1920 Lestidae Calvert, 1901 Perilestidae Kennedy, 1920 Synlestidae Tillyard, 1917
Fossil record Fossils attributed to Lestoidea are known from the Cretaceous onward, with records from Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Lestoidea includes the extinct family †Eolestidae, known from Eocene deposits in North America.
Fossil genera The following fossil genera are currently assigned to Lestoidea: †Albertalestes †Cerdanyagrion †Cretalestes †Cretaphylolestes †Danolestes †Eolestes †Gaurimacia †Inacayalestes †Lutetialestes †Madres †Palaeoperilestes †Palaeophylolestes
Etymology The superfamily name Lestoidea is derived from the type genus Lestes and the zoological suffix -oidea, used for superfamilies.
Some authors have used the alternative spelling Lestinoidea to avoid confusion with the unrelated damselfly genus Lestoidea. However, under zoological nomenclature, Lestoidea is considered grammatically correct, and the principle of homonymy does not apply because the names belong to different zoological groups, one at superfamily rank and the other at genus rank.
See also List of damselflies of the world
References