{{Short description|Species of damselfly}} {{Speciesbox | image = Aztec_Dancer_Argia_nahuana_2009-04-19.jpg | genus = Argia | species = nahuana | authority = (Calvert, 1902)&nbsp;<ref>{{ITIS |id=102152 |taxon=''Argia nahuana''}}</ref> | range_map = North_America_Range_Argia_nahuana.svg | range_map_caption = Range of ''A. nahuana''&nbsp;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Argia nahuana range map |publisher=USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center |url=https://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/dfly/usa/51.htm |accessdate=December 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027084046/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/dfly/usa/51.htm |archivedate=October 27, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="abbott"/> }}

The '''Aztec dancer''' (''Argia nahuana'') damselfly is one of the pond damsels. Common name originates from the Aztecs, and scientific names comes from the Nahuas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Paulson |first=Dennis |date=2021 |title=A Checklist of North American Odonata |url=https://oc.staging.birdsinthehand.com/public/media/uploads/files/NA_Odonata_Checklist_2021_update.pdf |journal=Occasional Paper, Slater Museum of Natural History |issue=56}}</ref>

== Physical Description == The dark black stripe on the side of the thorax is forked from front to back. Other field marks include blue postocular spots, pale blue legs with a black stripe, and a blue ring on the seventh segment of the abdomen.<ref name="abbott">{{Cite book |title=Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States |last=Abbott |first=John C. |year=2005 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-11364-5 |pages=79–81}}</ref> Can be differentiated from similar subspecies by the larger width of the stripe down its mid dorsal thorax, and medial orientation of the cercus lobe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Garrison |first=Rosser W. |date=1994 |title=A Synopsis of the Genus Argia of the United States with Keys and Descriptions of New Species, Argia sabino, A. leonorae, and A. pima (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40785270 |journal=Transactions of the American Entomological Society |volume=120 |issue=4 |pages=287–368 |jstor=40785270 |issn=0002-8320}}</ref> Additionally, the forewing contains four quadrangular cells and the hindwing has three.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis |last=Abbott |first=John |date=1999 |title=Biodiversity of Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the South-Central Nearctic and Adjacent Neotropical Biotic Provinces |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc501251/m2/1/high_res_d/1002658901-Abbott_Color.pdf |access-date=October 25, 2023}}</ref> Females look similar to males with the exception of their mainly light brown coloring as opposed to the males' bright blue.<ref name=":0" />

=== Similar species === Other dancers share many physical traits with the Aztec dancer, and often occupy similar regions. Most commonly confused with ''Argia nahuana are Argia agrioides, Argia leonorae, Argia fumipennis, and Argia hinei.''<ref name=":1" /> Aztec dancers were originally considered a variation of California dancers (''Argia agrioides),'' until declared its own species in 1958.<ref name=":0" />

== Habitat == Aztec dancers are most common in the Southwest, including many parts of Mexico and states like California, Arizona, Texas, and Kansas.<ref name=":0" /> They reside in clear water streams with shallow water, high sun exposure, and minimal vegetation lining the water.<ref name=":0" />

== Sightings == First recorded sighting was in 1894. Between then and 1975, 115 sightings were reported, as compared to the post-1980 count of 35 sightings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ball-Damerow |first1=Joan E. |last2=Oboyski |first2=Peter T. |last3=Resh |first3=Vincent H. |date=2015-02-16 |title=California dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata) database: temporal and spatial distribution of species records collected over the past century |journal=ZooKeys |issue=482 |pages=67–89 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.482.8453 |issn=1313-2970 |pmc=4337221 |pmid=25709531 |bibcode=2015ZooK..482...67B |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [http://bugguide.net/node/view/57042 Argia nahuana] on BugGuide.Net

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1634013}}

Category:Coenagrionidae Category:Insects described in 1902

{{Coenagrionidae-stub}}