Platystictidae is a family of damselflies, commonly known as shadowdamsels. They look very similar to the threadtail damselfly family (Protoneuridae). They can mostly be found throughout Asia, Central America, and South America.

Platystictidae Temporal range: Cenomanian–Present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Protosticta gravelyi, male
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Zygoptera
Superfamily:	Platystictoidea
Family:	Platystictidae
Genera
Ceylonosticta Fraser, 1931 Drepanosticta Laidlaw, 1917 Indosticta Bedjanic, 2016 Palaemnema Selys, 1860 Platysticta Selys, 1860 Protosticta Selys, 1885 Sinosticta Wilson, 1997 Sulcosticta van Tol, 2005 Telosticta Dow & Orr, 2012 Yunnanosticta Dow & Zhang, 2018

Most members of this family live in dense forests in the tropics where they are found around streams. Their wings are narrow and their abdomen slender and elongated. The adults probably do not disperse far as many species are known from a single location or have small ranges and there are probably other species as yet undescribed.^[1]

The oldest members of the family belong to the genus Mesosticta from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar.