Little devil (dragonfly)
| Little devil | ||||||||||||
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Selysiothemis nigra , female |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Selysiothemis | ||||||||||||
| Ris , 1897 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Selysiothemis nigra | ||||||||||||
| ( Vander Linden , 1825) |
The little devil ( Selysiothemis nigra ) is the only representative of the dragonfly genus Selysiothemis from the family of the sailing dragonflies . It is widespread from Central Asia to the Mediterranean countries.
features
The abdomen, which is around 20 millimeters long, is black in colored males and has white frosting on the underside. Juvenile males and females, on the other hand, are pale gray-yellow with black markings. This is made up of a dorsal strip on the second and third segments , as well as on the transverse edges of these segments. The dorsal stripe continues but is interrupted on segments four and seven at the transition to the next segment. It also narrows on these segments in the middle of the segment. On the eighth with the tenth segment it becomes wider again. The upper abdominal appendages are shorter than the ninth segment and, when viewed from the side, are almost semicircular. The broad and blunt lower abdominal appendages are only slightly shorter than the upper ones.
In the adult males, the chest ( thorax ) is also black and whitish on the ventral side. This is accompanied by white hairs. The females, on the other hand, are golden brown and turn whitish towards the bottom. The legs are black and yellowish white on the hips ( coxa ) and on the inside of the thigh ( femur ). The hind wings , measuring around 25 millimeters, are transparent like the forewings and have a white mark on the wing ( pterostigma ). The wing veins are white.
While the lower lip ( labium ) is whitish in adult males, it turns yellowish white in juvenile males and females. The upper lip ( labrum ) is cloudy orange. The face and the subsequent forehead ( frons ) are grayish olive color towards the center obscured in adult males and greenish white in females and not yet fully colored males. In addition, there is a sharply delineated forehead basal line in the latter. The vertex is also dark olive in color.
proof
- Henrik Steinmann - World Catalog of Odonata (Volume II Anisoptera) [p. 551], de Gruyter, 1997, ISBN 3-11-014934-6
- Friedrich Ris: Libellulins edited monographically. Dragonellulins 8 . (pdf) In: Collections zoologiques du Baron Edm. de Selys Longchamps. Catalog systématique et descriptif . 3, 16 (1), 1913, pp. 1041f. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
Web links
- Selysiothemis nigra inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: Dow, RA, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.