''Crocothemis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

in the

Libellulidae The chasers, darters, skimmers, and perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest family of dragonflies. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily M ...

family, subfamily Sympetrinae (darters). Various species of this genus occur in

southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the Southwest Pacific. They are generally small to medium-sized dragonflies. These dragonflies are often noticed due to their colours. Males are generally very brightly coloured, ranging from totally red in several species, to the rich blue of Australia's '' C. nigrifrons''. As with many Libellulid species, the females tend to be dull brown or orange. Like most libellulids they tend to perch on sticks, reeds or stones near water, flying out to catch insects then returning to their perch.

Species

The genus contains the following species:

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q137359 Libellulidae Anisoptera genera Odonata of Africa Odonata of Asia Odonata of Oceania Odonata of Australia Taxa named by Friedrich Moritz Brauer