''Onychogomphus forcipatus'', the small pincertail or green-eyed hook-tailed dragonfly, is a species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

belonging to the family Gomphidae.

Subspecies

Subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

include: *''Onychogomphus forcipatus'' var. ''albotibialis'' Schmidt, 1954 *''Onychogomphus forcipatus'' var. ''forcipatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *''Onychogomphus forcipatus'' var. ''unguiculatus'' (Vander Linden, 1820)

Distribution

This quite common and widespread dragonfly is present in most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and Turkmenistan.

Habitat

These dragonflies usually inhabit clean rivers with a little faster running water and gravel or sandy banks. Occasionally they are also present at large lakes.Dragonflies and damselflies in Languedoc
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Description

The adults of ''Onychogomphus forcipatus'' grow up to long, with a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

of . The eyes of these medium-sized dragonflies are widely separated and grey-to-green. The two black lines on the side of the thorax are relatively narrow and touch the midline. It has a yellow line on the

vertex Vertex, vertices or vertexes may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics and computer science *Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines, or edges meet *Vertex (computer graphics), a data structure that describes the position ...

and two cells above the anal triangle. The abdomen in males is fitted with three hooks of large size (anal appendages). Cercoids may be dark and have a subterminal tooth. The base of the hindwing is angled in males and rounded in females. This species is rather similar to ''

Onychogomphus uncatus ''Onychogomphus uncatus'', the large pincertail or blue-eyed hook-tailed dragonfly, is a species of dragonflies belonging to the family Gomphidae. Distribution This species is present in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Swi ...

''. The two species can be distinguished on the basis of the shape and extension of the black markings, especially on the thorax and on the last abdominal segments.

Biology

Adults can be encountered close to running water and lakes from June through September. In Southern Europe, the emergence period typically begins in April. In

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, the flight season of the subspecies ''O. f. albotibialis'' is from late March to October. This subspecies is callified as a

Near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

. After the mating the females lay about 500 eggs into the water. Larvae dig and live buried in the bottom. Their life cycle from egg to imago lasts about 3–5 years.

Gallery

File:Onychogomphus forcipatus exuvium.jpg,

Exuvia In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have moulted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often b ...

File:Gomphidae - Onychogomphus forcipatus.JPG, Female ''O. f. unguiculatus'', close-up on head File:Onychogomphus forcipatus (thorax).jpg, Close-up on thorax, the two black lines touch the midline File:Small pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus albotibialis) male Cyprus 2.jpg, male ''O. f. albotibialis'',

References

*Göran Sahlén - Eggshell ultrastructure in Onychogomphus forcipatus unguiculatus (Vander Linden) (Odonata: Gomphidae) - Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Uppsala University, Villavägen - International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology Volume 24, Issue 3, July 1995, Pages 281-286

External links

Galerie-insecte

* ttp://www.linnea.it/onychogomphus-forcipatus/ Linnea {{Taxonbar, from=Q1746557 Gomphidae Insects described in 1758 Dragonflies of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus