CreatureData

White-tailed skimmer

Orthetrum albistylum (Selys, 1848)

Status not recordeddragonflies

The white-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum) is a species in the family Libellulidae, order Odonata. Recorded adults reach 5 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Mozambique.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the white-tailed skimmer

Weight
Not recorded
Length
4.5 cm – 5 cm
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivore
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
freshwater
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)
Generations a year
One
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

How big is the white-tailed skimmer?

WHITE-TAILED SKIMMER · LENGTH 5 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 5 cm, the recorded maximum length of the white-tailed skimmer is about 2.9% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the white-tailed skimmer live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The white-tailed skimmer is listed for 1 country.

Mozambique
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Mozambique

Why a country list is not a range map

Is the white-tailed skimmer endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the white-tailed skimmer classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderOdonata
  5. familyLibellulidae
  6. genusOrthetrum
  7. SpeciesOrthetrum albistylum (Selys, 1848)

Synonyms Libellula albicauda, Libellula albistylum, Libellula speciosa

Other names and names in other languages (25)
  • Bjelorepi strijelacBosnian
  • vážka bělořitnáCzech
  • Östlicher BlaupfeilGerman
  • Centinela puntiblancaSpanish
  • Orthétrum à Stylets BlancsFrench
  • Bijeli vilenjakCroatian
  • Fehérfarkú pásztorszitakötőHungarian
  • Frecciazzurra puntabiancaItalian
  • シオカラトンボ (塩辛蜻蛉)Japanese
  • 밀잠자리Korean
  • Baltagalė skėtėLithuanian
  • WitpuntoeverlibelDutch
  • Lecicha białoznacznaPolish
  • Стрекоза белохвостаяRussian
  • Temni modračSlovenian
  • Rrëshkitësi bishtbardhëAlbanian
  • Belorepi hitri konjicSerbian
  • แมลงปอบ้านเสือหางขาวThai
  • Рівночеревець білохвостийUkrainian
  • 白刃蜻蜓Chinese
  • Orthétrum à stylets blancs (L')French
  • シオカラトンボJapanese
  • Прямобрюх белохвостыйRussian
  • Бели вилењакSerbian
  • Beli vilenjakSerbian

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the white-tailed skimmer

Other species in the same genus Orthetrum.

Long skimmer

Orthetrum trinacria

LibellulidaeNo free photo yet

CompareWhite-tailed skimmer vs Black-tailed skimmerWhite-tailed skimmer vs Keeled skimmerWhite-tailed skimmer vs Southern skimmerWhite-tailed skimmer vs Green skimmer

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the white-tailed skimmer?

An adult white-tailed skimmer measures 4.5 cm – 5 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the white-tailed skimmer live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the white-tailed skimmer for 1 country: Mozambique. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

What kind of animal is the white-tailed skimmer?

The white-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum) belongs to the family Libellulidae in the order Odonata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). White-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-skimmer

MLA

“White-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-skimmer.

BibTeX
@misc{white_tailed_skimmer_2026,
  title = {White-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-tailed-skimmer},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}