Somatochlora calverti

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Somatochlora calverti
Systematics
Subordination : Dragonflies (Anisoptera)
Superfamily : Libelluloidea
Family : Hawk dragonflies (Corduliidae)
Subfamily : Corduliinae
Genre : Emerald Dragonflies ( Somatochlora )
Type : Somatochlora calverti
Scientific name
Somatochlora calverti
Williamson and Leonora K. Gloyd , 1933

Somatochlora calverti is a species of dragonfly from the family of the falcon dragonflies (Corduliidae), which belong to the large dragonflies (Anisoptera). The species is named after the entomologist Philip Powell Calvert . The females and the larval stages have not yet been described.

features

The males of Somatochlora calverti reach body lengths between 50.2 and 52.0 millimeters, of which 32 to 36 millimeters are on the abdomen . The slim abdomen widens shortly after halfway through the fourth segment to narrow again from the sixth. It is dark brown to the base of the third and to the tenth segment. The remaining parts of the abdomen have a pale greenish black sheen. In addition to the basic color, there is a light yellow drawing that is made up of the following: The beginning is made with the rear, lateral edges of the first segment. On the second segment there is a triangular-like spot on the lower two thirds that covers the auricle , as well as a slightly smaller spot on the genital lobe . Finally, on this segment there is a dorsal spot that runs across the abdomen. On the first two thirds of the third segment there is a spot on the underside which is flanked by two triangular spots at the end of the same on the top. The next part of the drawing is on the tenth segment and consists of a pointed, trapezoidal spot extending from the segment base. In addition, the intersegmental membranes between the fifth and ninth segments and the edges of the tergites are yellowish. The first two and the fifth to ninth segments are covered with amber-colored hairs. The same on the abdominal appendages are dark brown. The brownish black, upper abdominal appendages are about as long or just shorter than the ninth and tenth segments together. Their distance is very small at the base. Towards the end they curve downwards by about 50 ° on the one hand and inward on the other. The lower appendices are slightly shorter than the upper ones.

The foremost segment of the thorax , the so-called prothorax, is dark brown on the upper and lower sides and a little lighter on the sides. Its anterior and posterior lobes are yellowish white. The adjoining synthorax is metallic green and looks shiny purple further back. In the area of ​​the episternum primed brown there is a yellowish spot about two and a half by a millimeter in size. Other well-defined yellowish spots are on the sides of the thorax. The anterior spot is on the epimeron ; the second is situated at the base of the hind wing and extends to the underside of the animal, where it meets that of the opposite side. The indentations in front of the other pair of wings are also light yellow.

The hip ( coxa ) and the thigh ring (trochanter) are completely bright yellow in the front pair of legs , in the middle and rear only on the rear side. The rest of all pairs of legs are dark brown or black. The keel on the tibiae of the first pair of legs, which is typical for the genus, measures approximately 40% of the tibia length.

The wings are transparent. The membranula and the pterostigma, which is about four and a half times as long as it is wide, are brownish, like some parts of the wing nerve. The rear wing pair is between 36 and 37 millimeters long and 10.8 to 11.0 millimeters wide. There are seven to eight ante nodal veins in the front wing, five of them in the rear wing. The ratio is reversed for the PostNoda loaders. Here there are five or six in the front wing and seven in the rear wing. The wing triangles are divided by a vein and between M 1 and M 1a there are between 10 and 14 cells in the forewing and between 11 and 14 in the hind wing.

The head of Somatochlora calverti is about eight millimeters wide. The labium , the upper lip ( labrum ), the clypeus and the sides of the frons are light yellow. In addition to a dark spot on the upper edge of the labrum, the lower edge is dark brown. Likewise, the lower edge of the fron and its median is dark brown. The upper part is metallic blue-green. There are small indented brown dots on the postclypeus. The vertex is metallic purple and the occiput is brownish black. The back of the head is black and the edges are covered with white hairs.

distribution

Somatochlora calverti occurs in northern Florida on the border with Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico . Individual finds have also been reported from Alabama and South Carolina .

Habitat and way of life

The holotype was caught in a pine forest . There the species inhabits clearings and flies high between the tree tops together with Tramea carolina . The same habitat is also inhabited by the species Somatochlora filosa , Somatochlora provocans and Somatochlora linearis . When settling, the species prefers dead branches two to four and a half meters high.

Similar species

The species Somatochlora filosa , Somatochlora provocans and Somatochlora ozarkensis look very similar to Somatochlora calverti . However, the veins of the Costa , the Subcosta and the Antenodal veins in S. calverti are yellowish. The light spots on the tenth segment are also more pronounced here. The abdomen appendages are another good distinguishing feature. While those in the middle are more swollen than in S. filosa , in S. provocans and S. ozarkensis they are angled instead of swollen in the same place.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Somatochlora calverti on Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the United States , Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center of the US Geological Survey, accessed February 20, 2010.

literature

Web links