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Data from: Evolution and biogeography of the widespread dragonfly genus Orthetrum (Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae): Massive dispersal in the tertiary

Onsongo, Violet1; C. Abbott, John C.2; Bybee, Seth M.3; Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.4; Frandsen, Paul B.3; Goodman, Aaron15; Guralnick, Robert67; Kalkman, Vincent J.4; Kohli, Manpreet18; Newton, Lacie19; Prendini, Lorenzo1; Raxworthy, Christopher J.1; Ware, Jessica1

Published Jul 01, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4f4qrfjtf

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Jul 01, 2026 version files 800.59 MB

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Abstract

With 67 species, Orthetrum Newman, 1833 is the most speciose genus within the family Libellulidae Leach, 1815 (Odonata: Anisoptera), distributed across the Afrotropical, Palearctic, Indo-Malayan, Malagasy, Oceania, Wallacea, and Australasian regions. Despite its wide distribution, serving as a top predator in freshwater ecosystems, the evolutionary history of Orthetrum has remained unresolved, with prior studies limited to morphology and sparse genetic sampling (<33% of species). We present here the most comprehensive phylogenetic study of Orthetrum to date, sampling 50 of 67 species (~75%) using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE). Our analyses, integrating concatenated maximum likelihood and coalescent-based approaches, provide a robust, strongly supported phylogeny that confirms the monophyly of Orthetrum and reveals four distinct clades. Two clades comprise mostly Afrotropical species, whereas the remaining clades are from the Palearctic, Indo-Malayan, Oceania, Wallacea, and Australasian regions.  Divergence time estimates indicate that Orthetrum originated ~32 million years ago, with major diversification occurring from 28 Ma onward, well after major continental fragmentation ~events. Ancestral range reconstruction under the best-supported dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis (DEC) framework does not support a single-region origin; instead, early lineages are inferred to have occupied a broadly connected Afro–Eurasian system. Subsequent diversification is characterized by stepwise dispersal across adjacent regions, including repeated expansions into the Indo-Malayan and Palearctic regions, followed by colonization of Australasia, Wallacea, and Oceania. The Afrotropical region emerges as a major center of lineage persistence and diversification, with subsequent range expansion in some lineages during the early Miocene (~23 Ma). Madagascar reflects at least five independent colonization events from Africa, resulting in one species endemic to the island.