Perilestidae

The Perilestidae are a family of damselflies commonly known as shortwings and twigtails.^[2] It is a small family of around 19 species.^[3] All extant species are native to the Neotropical realm. In the past Nubiolestes of Africa was included in this family,^[3] but this is doubted. Palaeoperilestes electronicus is an extinct species described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.^[4]

Perilestidae Temporal range: Cenomanian–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Perissolestes guianensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Zygoptera
Superfamily:	Lestoidea
Family:	Perilestidae Kennedy, 1920[1]

These damselflies are short-winged and have very long, slender, color-banded abdomens.^[2] They live in dense forest habitat and rest with their abdomens hanging vertically.^[5]

Genera

The family Perilestidae include the following genera:^[6]

• Perilestes Hagen in Selys, 1862
• Perissolestes Kennedy, 1941
• †Palaeoperilestes Zheng et al. 2016