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.[1] 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.[2]
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 dropwing | Western and Central Africa. | ||
| Trithemis aequalis | swamp dropwing | Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. | ||
| Trithemis africana | western phantom dropwing[3] | Western and Central Africa, in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. | ||
| Trithemis annulata | violet dropwing,[4] [5] violet-marked darter[6] | Africa, in the Middle East, in the Arabian Peninsula and southern Europe. | ||
| Trithemis anomala | striped dropwing | Zambia | ||
| Trithemis arteriosa | red-veined dropwing | Algeria, 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[7] | Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. | ||
| Trithemis basitincta | Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone | |||
| Trithemis bifida | shadow dropwing | Democratic 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 dropwing | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon | ||
| Trithemis dejouxi | stonewash dropwing | Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Republic of Guinea | ||
| Trithemis dichroa | small dropwing,[8] black dropwing | Angola, 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 glider | Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, throughout Asia to New Guinea | ||
| Trithemis fumosa | Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon | |||
| Trithemis furva | navy dropwing | Angola, 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,[9] dark dropwing | Angola, 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 dropwing[10] | Botswana, 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 dropwing[11] | Gabon | ||
| Trithemis imitata | copycat dropwing | Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. | ||
| Trithemis integra | Albertine dropwing | Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Uganda | ||
| Trithemis kalula | pretty dropwing | Burkina 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 dropwing | Algeria, 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,[12] 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 dropwing[13] | Angola, 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 dropwing | Namibia | ||
| Trithemis persephone | Madagascar | |||
| Trithemis pluvialis | riffle-and-reed dropwing, river dropwing,[14] russet dropwing | Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe | ||
| Trithemis pruinata | cobalt dropwing | Angola, 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 dropwing | Angola, 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. | ||