Elattoneura

{{Short description|Genus of dragonflies}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Elattoneura glauca.jpg

| image_caption = Elattoneura glauca

| taxon = Elattoneura

| authority = Cowley, 1935

}}

File:African threadtail (Elattoneura villiersi) male Ankasa.jpg

Elattoneura, the African threadtails, is a genus of damselflies in the family Platycnemididae.Dijkstra, K. D. B., Kalkman, V. J., Dow, R. A., Stokvis, F. R., & Van Tol, J. (2014). [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/syen.12035/full Redefining the damselfly families: a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Zygoptera (Odonata).] Systematic Entomology, 39(1), 68-96. They were formerly placed in genus Prodasineura,{{cite web |last1=Dijkstra |first1=K.-D.B. |title=Genus Elattoneura Cowley, 1935 - African threadtails |url= http://addo.adu.org.za/index.php?taxon_id=16500 |website=addo.adu.org.za |publisher=frican Dragonflies and Damselflies Online |access-date= 1 March 2022}} but form a distinct clade. The adults are smallish and delicately built damselflies, and their males have very wide heads (cf. Platycnemis and Copera). The adults are typically found in sheltered locations beside or over running water, though a few prefer calmer water with much detritus. There appears to be two groups with differing habitat preferences. Those with pruinose (i.e. frosty grey or white) faces and mostly blue eyes occupy watercourses in open terrain, while those with black or brightly coloured faces are found along forested streams.