Somatochlora, or the striped emeralds,[2] is a genus of dragonflies in the family Corduliidae with 42 described species found across the Northern Hemisphere.[3]
Taxonomy
The name Somatochlora is derived from the Greek soma (body) and khloros (green).[4] The species Corduliochlora borisi was formerly treated as a member of Somatochlora.[3]
Description
Newly emerged male
S. albicincta on its
exuvia
Members of this genus are medium-sized dragonflies with dark bodies and a metallic green lustre. The eyes are brilliant green, and many species have dull to bright yellow markings on the thorax and/or abdomen. The abdomens of males are distinctive, with the first two segments bulbous-shaped, the third constricted, and the rest of the abdomen club-shaped with a straight ending. Females have abdomens with straighter sides.[2] Identifying these dragonflies to species can be difficult.[4] The cerci of males, on the tip of the abdomen, are distinctively shaped in each species, as are the subgenital plates on female abdomens. In some species, the subgenital plate is large and projecting, and is used as a "pseudo-ovipositor" for inserting eggs into a substrate.[2]
Distribution
Illustration showing male cerci of several species of
Somatochlora
Somatochlora species are found across the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, and North America, with some species extending into arctic regions north of the treeline.[5] Some species extend south to Spain,[6] Turkey,[7] northern India,[8] northern Vietnam,[8] Taiwan[9] and the Southern United States.[10] At least one species, S. semicircularis, may be found at altitudes up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft).[11] In North America, most species live in the boreal forest and/or the Appalachian Mountains.[4]
Life history
Somatochlora larvae typically live in bogs, fens, and/or forest streams, with some species found in lakes. They do not occur in marshy ponds.[2] Many species are limited to very specific habitats and are rare and local. Adults feed in flight and may occur at some distance from their breeding habitat in mixed swarms.[2]
Species
Larvae of several
Somatochlora species
Somatochlora is the most diverse group within the Corduliidae.[2] Of the 42 described species listed below, 25 are North American, 16 are Eurasian, and one is circumboreal (S. sahlbergi). Two additional fossil species have been assigned to this genus: S. brisaci, based on a wing from the Upper Miocene in France, and S. oregonica, based on two wings from the Oligocene in Oregon.[1][12]
References
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^ a b "Somatochlora". Fossilworks. Macquarie University. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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^ a b c d e f Paulson, Dennis (2011). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 345–346.
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^ a b c Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. (2023). "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral, University of Alabama. Retrieved 14 Mar 2023.
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^ a b c "Somatochlora (Striped Emeralds)". Living Landscapes - Dragonflies. Royal BC Museum. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
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^ Cannings, S. G.; Cannings, R. A. (1985). "The larva of Somatochlora sahlbergi Trybŏm, with notes on the species in the Yukon Territory, Canada (Anisoptera: Corduliidae)". Odonatologica. 14 (4): 319–330.
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^ Muddeman, John; Lockwood, Mike; Farino, Teresa. "List of the Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of Spain and Portugal, including the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores". Iberian Wildlife Tours. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
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^ Kalkman, Vincent J.; Wasscher, Marcel (2003). "An annotated checklist of the Odonata of Turkey". Odonatologica. 32 (3): 215–236.
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^ a b c d e f "IUCN Red List Species Summaries". IUCN Red List. IUCN. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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^ a b c d e f g Zhang, Hao-Miao; Vogt, Timothy E.; Cai, Qing-hua (2014). "Somatochlora shennong sp. nov. from Hubei, China (Odonata: Corduliidae)". Zootaxa.
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^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "NatureServe Species Pages". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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^ Willey, Ruth L. (1974). "Emergence Patterns of the Subalpine Dragonfly Somatochlora Semicircularis (Odonata: Corduliidae)". Psyche. 81 (1): 121–133.
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^ Cockerell, T. D. A. (1927). "Tertiary Fossil Insects from Eastern Oregon". Additions to the Paleontology of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin Regions of North America. 346: 64–65.
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^ "Checklist, English common names". DragonflyPix.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
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^ "Checklist of UK Species". British Dragonfly Society. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
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^ "North American Odonata". University of Puget Sound. 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
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^ a b De Knijf, Geert; Flenker, Ulrich; Vanappelghem, Ceedric; Manci, Cosmin O.; Kalkman, Vincent J.; Demolder, Heidi (2011). "The status of two boreo-alpine species, Somatochlora alpestris and S. arctica, in Romania and their vulnerability to the impact of climate change (Odonata: Corduliidae)". International Journal of Odonatology. 14 (2): 111–126.
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^ a b c d e "GBIF Species Mapping". GBIF. GBIF. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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^ Kalkman, V.J.; Babu, R.; Bedjanic, M.; Conniff, K.; Gyeltshen, T.; Khan, M.K.; Subramanian, K.A.; Zia, A.; Orr, A.G. (2020). "Checklist of the dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka". Zootaxa. 4849 (1): 001–084. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4849.1.1. hdl:10072/398768.
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^ Asahina, S (1982). "A new Somatochlora from Nepal (Corduliidae)". Tombo. 25: 15–18.
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^ Holusa, Otakar (2009). "Notes to the first record of Somatochlora meridionalis (Odonata: Corduliidae) in the Czech Republic". Acta Mus. Beskid. 1: 89–95.
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^ "Somatochlora uchidai". Odonata of Japan. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
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