Soaring Systematics: An Evaluation of Biogeography and Flight Behavior in Dragonflies and Damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) Using Phylogenomics
Dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) are descended from what were most likely the first winged animals, which flew ∼320 million years ago (Ma). They comprise ∼6400 extant species distributed across all continents except Antarctica. Examination of long-standing hypotheses regarding the role of flight behavior and wing morphology in shaping the global distribution of odonates has been limited by spatial and taxonomic scope. Here we leverage mobilized trait and distribution data derived from specimens and literature combined with a uniquely comprehensive target-enriched phylogeny (∼940 loci) covering all families and 67% of recognized genera. Ancestral state reconstruction of flight behavior strategies ("flyer" vs. "percher") suggests the odonate ancestor was a flyer, spending a majority of its time when active on the wing, with multiple independent transitions to percher. Several transitions back to the flyer behavior have also occurred. Aspect ratios for forewings and hindwings showed a strong relationship between these traits and perching and flying behavioral strategies. Divergence time estimation suggests the crown age of Odonata to be 290-325 Ma. Bayesian biogeographical evolutionary analysis of nine biogeographical realms provides a preliminary biogeographical history for odonates spanning 325 Ma. Key family-level splits occurred during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, paralleling the increasing isolation of landmasses and the poleward drift of the contemporary Australasian and Holarctic regions. Both behavioral and morphological adaptations likely facilitated the distributional success of select odonate lineages. This study lays the foundation for a revised classification of odonates and a more complete understanding of the influence of flight behavior and wing morphology in relation to evolutionary processes shaping past and current odonate diversity.
Authors
- Juliana Ehlert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8998-7830)
- Rory A. Dow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0760-4822)
- Stefan Pinkert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8348-2337)
- Robert Guralnick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6682-1504)
- Ethan Tolman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2594-2833)
- Jacob Idec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0976-8297)
- Judicael Fomekong‐Lontchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2412-9434)
- Ruth Salas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4493-7842)
- Cornelio Andrés Bota-Sierra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6555-7913)
- Adolfo Cordero‐Rivera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5087-3550)
- Melissa Sánchez Herrera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5144-4996)
- Bill Mauffray
- Alex Córdoba‐Aguilar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5978-1660)
- Michael W. Belitz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8162-5998)
- Haomiao Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5897-2086)
- Brittney Hahn
- Jessica L. Ware (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4066-7681)
- Lacie Newton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7269-6244)
- Ângelo Parise Pinto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1650-5666)
- Seth Bybee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6224-6303)
- Pablo Pessacq (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3143-8876)
- Jeffrey H. Skevington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1445-9870)
- Matti Hämäläinen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4919-534X)
- Thai Hong Pham
- Payton R Carter
- Violet Onsongo
- John Abbott
- Anne L Nielsen
- Stephen J Richards
- Laura Sutherland
- Phil Barden
- Vincent J Kalkman
- Aaron Goodman
- Gunther Theischinger
- M Olalla Lorenzo-Carballa
- Manpreet Kolhi
- Leandro Juen
- Paul B Frandsen
- Emma Rowe
- Rhema Uche-Dike
- Klaas-Douwe B Dijkstra
- Pungki Lupiyanigdyah
- Rhainer G Ferreira
Institutions
- Brigham Young University (US)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- New Jersey Institute of Technology (US)
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL)
- Florida Museum of Natural History (US)
- Australian Museum (AU)
- American Museum of Natural History (US)
- Baruch College (US)
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- University of Alabama (US)
- Kunming Institute of Zoology (CN)
- Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES)
- South Australian Museum (AU)
- Universidad de Antioquia (CO)
- Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (MY)
- National Museum (ZA)
- Centro de Investigación y Extensión Forestal Andino Patagónico (AR)
- Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro (BR)
- National Institute of Science and Technology (ID)
- Florida State Collection of Arthropods (US)
- Universidade Federal do Paraná (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Pará (BR)
- Universidade de Vigo (ES)
- Carleton University (CA)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Systematic Biology
- Published
- 2026-01-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syag005
- Primary Topic
- Fossil Insects in Amber
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00