Broad-bodied chaser
Libellula depressa Linnaeus, 1758
The broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) is an insect in the subgroup dragonflies and damselflies, placed in the family Libellulidae. It belongs to the order Odonata, suborder Anisoptera and superfamily Libelluloidea, within the class Insecta and phylum Arthropoda.
Quick facts about the broad-bodied chaser
The species was named by Linnaeus, 1758, and is also called the Broad-bodied Libellula or Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 3.9 cm – 4.8 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the broad-bodied chaser?
Photos of the broad-bodied chaser
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the broad-bodied chaser live?
Not recorded
What is the broad-bodied chaser?
Libellula depressa, the broad-bodied chaser is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.
From the Wikipedia article “Libellula depressa” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Libellula_depressa&oldid=1360782553), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the broad-bodied chaser endangered?
The broad-bodied chaser is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the broad-bodied chaser classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderOdonata
- familyLibellulidae
- genusLibellula
- SpeciesLibellula depressa Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Libellula depressa subsp. taurica, Libellula sylvia, Platetrum depressum
Other names and names in other languages (53)
- Broad bodied chaserEnglish
- Broad-bodied chaser dragonflyEnglish
- Broad-bodied LibellulaEnglish
- مطارد عريض الجسمArabic
- Плоскотело живеничеBulgarian
- Širokotrbi konjicBosnian
- CabotCatalan
- Libèl·lula amplaCatalan
- vážka ploskáCzech
- Picellwr PraffWelsh
- Picellwr BoliogWelsh
- Picellwyr PraffWelsh
- Blå libelDanish
- PlattbauchGerman
- Libélula planaSpanish
- Libélula de vientre planoSpanish
- Lapik-vesikiilEstonian
- litteähukankorentoFinnish
- Libellule dépriméeFrench
- Libellule déprimée (La)French
- Ruagaire leathanIrish
- ruagaire leathannScottish Gaelic
- ruagairean leathannScottish Gaelic
- Libélula azuleiraGalician
- טיסנית רחבת-גוףHebrew
- Plosni vilin konjicCroatian
- Plosnato vretenceCroatian
- Laposhasú acsaHungarian
- közönséges acsaHungarian
- Libellula panciapiattaItalian
- Plokščioji SkėtėLithuanian
- Plakanā platspāreLatvian
- ബ്രോഡ് ബോഡീഡ് ചെയ്സർMalayalam
- blåbredlibelleNorwegian Bokmål
- bred blålibelleNorwegian Bokmål
- PlatbuikDutch
- Brei blålibelleNorwegian Nynorsk
- Läčäkköhukankorendoolo
- Ważka płaskaPolish
- Ważka płaskobrzuchaPolish
- Libélula achatadaPortuguese
- Libélula-achatadaPortuguese
- Стрекоза плоскаяRussian
- Modri ploščecSlovenian
- Gjahtarja trupgjerëAlbanian
- Vilin konjicSerbian
- bred trollsländaSwedish
- Tıknaz YusufçukTurkish
- Geniş cüsseli yusufçukTurkish
- Genişgövdeli YusufçukTurkish
- Gerçek Su BakiresiTurkish
- Бабка плоскаUkrainian
- 基斑蜻Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the broad-bodied chaser
Other species in the same genus Libellula.
Four-spotted chaser
Libellula quadrimaculata
Blue chaser
Libellula fulva
Widow
Libellula luctuosa
Twelve-spot skimmer
Libellula pulchella
Red skimmer
Libellula saturata
Black-faced skimmer
Libellula cyanea
CompareBroad-bodied chaser vs Four-spotted chaserBroad-bodied chaser vs Blue chaserBroad-bodied chaser vs WidowBroad-bodied chaser vs Twelve-spot skimmer
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the broad-bodied chaser?
The broad-bodied chaser is an insect in the subgroup dragonflies and damselflies. It belongs to the family Libellulidae in the order Odonata.
What is the scientific name of the broad-bodied chaser?
Its scientific name is Libellula depressa, placing it in the genus Libellula.
Who named Libellula depressa and when?
The species name is credited to Linnaeus, 1758.
Is the broad-bodied chaser endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the broad-bodied chaser have?
It is also called the Broad bodied chaser, Broad-bodied Libellula and Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly.
Which suborder does the broad-bodied chaser belong to?
It belongs to the suborder Anisoptera and the superfamily Libelluloidea.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-bodied-chaser
“Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-bodied-chaser.
@misc{broad_bodied_chaser_2026,
title = {Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-bodied-chaser},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}