Superfamily Calopterygoidea

Abstract

The superfamily Calopterygoidea has worldwide distribution, with 111 genera and 782 species known. Neotropical region has approximately 30 genera and 290 species, distributed in the families Amphipterygidae, Calopterygidae, Dicteriadidae, Megapodagrionidae and Polythoridae. Several ordinal level keys exist that include larvae of Calopterygoidea, but they are limited to certain regions or countries. At generic level, the larvae knowledge of low diversity families is relatively good, but only a small portion of its species have been described. For the speciose and widely distributed genera Hetaerina and Mnesarete (Calopterygidae) separation of larvae is impossible. Larvae of Heteragrion and Oxystigma (Megapodagrionidae) and Euthore and Polythore (Polythoridae) are also very difficult to separate morphologically. Here we present a key to families and genera of Calopterygoidea