Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Gynacantha

Gynacantha is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae. The females have two prominent spines under the last abdominal segment. This gives the genus name and the common name two-spined darners; they are also known as duskhawkers.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
779 w
Citations
20
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Gynacantha
Black-kneed duskhawker Gynacantha bullata
female, Aburi Botanical Gardens, Ghana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Family: Aeshnidae
Genus: Gynacantha
Rambur, 18421

Gynacantha is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae.2 The females have two prominent spines under the last abdominal segment.3 This gives the genus name (from Greek female and thorn) and the common name two-spined darners; they are also known as duskhawkers.

Etymology

The genus name Gynacantha is derived from Greek γυνή (gynē, “woman”) and ἄκανθα (akantha, “thorn”). The name refers to the spines at the end of the female abdomen.14

Species

The genus Gynacantha includes the following species:56

  1. Gynacantha adela Martin, 1909
  2. Gynacantha africana (Palisot de Beauvois, 1805) - Giant Duskhawker
  3. Gynacantha albistyla Fraser, 1927
  4. Gynacantha alcathoe Lieftinck, 1961
  5. Gynacantha apiaensis Fraser, 1927
  6. Gynacantha apicalis Fraser, 1924
  7. Gynacantha arnaudi Asahina, 1984
  8. Gynacantha arsinoe Lieftinck, 1948
  9. Gynacantha arthuri Lieftinck, 1953
  10. Gynacantha auricularis Martin, 1909
  11. Gynacantha bainbriggei Fraser, 1922
  12. Gynacantha bartai Paulson & von Ellenrieder, 2005
  13. Gynacantha basiguttata Selys, 1882
  14. Gynacantha bayadera Selys, 1891 (= G. furcata?)
  15. Gynacantha bifida Rambur, 1842
  16. Gynacantha biharica Fraser, 1927
  17. Gynacantha bispina Rambur, 1842
  18. Gynacantha bullata Karsch, 1891 - Black-kneed Duskhawker
  19. Gynacantha burmana Lieftinck, 1960
  20. Gynacantha calliope Lieftinck, 1953
  21. Gynacantha calypso Ris, 1915
  22. Gynacantha cattienensis Kompier & Holden, 2017
  23. Gynacantha caudata Karsch, 1891
  24. Gynacantha chaplini Khan, 2021
  25. Gynacantha chelifera McLachlan, 1895
  26. Gynacantha comorensis Couteyen & Papazian, 2009
  27. Gynacantha constricta Hämäläinen, 1991
  28. Gynacantha convergens Förster, 1908
  29. Gynacantha corbeti Lempert, 1999
  30. Gynacantha croceipennis Martin, 1897
  31. Gynacantha cylindrata Karsch, 1891 - Greater girdled Duskhawker
  32. Gynacantha demeter Ris, 1911
  33. Gynacantha dobsoni Fraser, 1951 – lesser duskhawker7
  34. Gynacantha dohrni Krüger, 1899
  35. Gynacantha dravida Lieftinck, 1960
  36. Gynacantha ereagris Gundlach, 1888
  37. Gynacantha francesca (Martin, 1909)
  38. Gynacantha furcata Rambur, 1842
  39. Gynacantha gracilis (Burmeister, 1839)
  40. Gynacantha helenga Williamson & Williamson, 1930
  41. Gynacantha hova Fraser, 1956
  42. Gynacantha hyalina Selys, 1882
  43. Gynacantha immaculifrons Fraser, 1956 - Pale Duskhawker
  44. Gynacantha incisura Fraser, 1935
  45. Gynacantha interioris Williamson, 1923
  46. Gynacantha japonica Bartenev, 1909
  47. Gynacantha jessei Williamson, 1923
  48. Gynacantha khasiaca McLachlan, 1896
  49. Gynacantha kirbyi Krüger, 1898 – slender duskhawker7
  50. Gynacantha klagesi Williamson, 1923
  51. Gynacantha laticeps Williamson, 1923
  52. Gynacantha limbalis Karsch, 1892
  53. Gynacantha litoralis Williamson, 1923
  54. Gynacantha maclachlani Förster, 1899
  55. Gynacantha malgassica Fraser, 1962
  56. Gynacantha manderica Grünberg, 1902 – little duskhawker8
  57. Gynacantha membranalis Karsch, 1891
  58. Gynacantha mexicana Selys, 1868 – bar-sided darner39
  59. Gynacantha mocsaryi Förster, 1898 – paddle-tipped duskhawker7
  60. Gynacantha musa Karsch, 1892
  61. Gynacantha nausicaa Ris, 1915
  62. Gynacantha nervosa Rambur, 1842 – twilight darner10
  63. Gynacantha nigeriensis (Gambles, 1956) – yellow-legged duskhawker911
  64. Gynacantha nourlangie Theischinger & Watson, 1991 – cave duskhawker7
  65. Gynacantha odoneli Fraser, 1922
  66. Gynacantha pasiphae Lieftinck, 1948
  67. Gynacantha penelope Ris, 1915
  68. Gynacantha phaeomeria Lieftinck, 1960
  69. Gynacantha radama Fraser, 1956
  70. Gynacantha rammohani Mitra & Lahiri, 1975
  71. Gynacantha remartinia Navás, 1934
  72. Gynacantha risi Laidlaw, 1931
  73. Gynacantha rolandmuelleri Hämäläinen, 1991
  74. Gynacantha rosenbergi Kaup in Brauer, 1867 – grey duskhawker7
  75. Gynacantha rotundata Navás, 1930
  76. Gynacantha ryukyuensis Asahina, 1962
  77. Gynacantha saltatrix Martin, 1909
  78. Gynacantha sextans McLachlan, 1896 - Dark-rayed Duskhawker
  79. Gynacantha stenoptera Lieftinck, 1934
  80. Gynacantha stevensoni Fraser, 1927
  81. Gynacantha stylata Martin, 1896
  82. Gynacantha subinterrupta Rambur, 1842
  83. Gynacantha tenuis Martin, 1909
  84. Gynacantha tibiata Karsch, 1891
  85. Gynacantha usambarica Sjöstedt, 1909 – Usambara duskhawker12
  86. Gynacantha vargasi Haber, 2019
  87. Gynacantha vesiculata Karsch, 1891
  88. Gynacantha villosa Grünberg, 1902 – hairy duskhawker13
References

References

  1. Rambur, Jules (1842). Histoire naturelle des insectes. Névroptères. Paris: Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret. pp. 534 [209] – via Internet Archive.
  2. "Genus Gynacantha Rambur, 1842". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  3. Paulson, Dennis R. (2009). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12281-6.
  4. Endersby, Ian; Fliedner, Heinrich (2015). The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies. Eltham, Victoria, Australia: Busybird Publishing. ISBN 9781925260625.
  5. Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama.
  6. Haber, William A. (2019-05-28). "Gynacantha vargasi (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnidae) sp. nov. from Costa Rica". Zootaxa. 4612 (1): 58–70. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4612.1.3. PMID 31717078. S2CID 190882751.
  7. Theischinger, G.; Hawking, J. (2006). The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0-643-09073-8.
  8. Clausnitzer, V.; Suhling, F.; Dijkstra, K.-D.B. (2016). "Gynacantha manderica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T59876A72361162. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T59876A72361162.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  9. "North American Odonata". University of Puget Sound. 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  10. Paulson, D.R. (2017). "Gynacantha nervosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T165050A80689618. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T165050A80689618.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  11. Clausnitzer, V.; Suhling, F.; Dijkstra, K.-D.B. (2016). "Gynacantha nigeriensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T59877A72361538. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T59877A72361538.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  12. Clausnitzer, V.; Suhling, F. (2010). "Gynacantha usambarica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010 e.T59879A12114020. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T59879A12114020.en.
  13. Clausnitzer, V.; Suhling, F.; Dijkstra, K.-D.B. (2016). "Gynacantha villosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T59881A72363075. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T59881A72363075.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.