Brilliant emerald
StatusLC
Status systemIUCN3.1
Status 2VU
Status2 systemIUCN3.1
TaxonSomatochlora metallica
Authority(Vander Linden, 1825)

The brilliant emerald, Somatochlora metallica, is a middle-sized species of dragonfly. It is the largest and greenest of the Somatochlora species; 50–55 millimetres (2.0–2.2 in) long.[1]

S. metallica is found across most of northern Eurasia where it is the commonest of its genus.[1] In Great Britain, it is locally common in south east England and has a very restricted population in Scotland.[2]

The East Asian Somatochlora vera, scientifically described in 1914 by Aleksandr Bartenev based on a specimen from Ussuri, Siberia[3] (and later also reported in northern China[4]), is typically treated as part of S. metallica,[5][4] but has also been considered a synonym of the East Asian S. exuberata.[6]

References

  1. ^ Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B. (2006). Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. British Wildlife Publishing. ISBN 0-9531399-4-8.
  2. ^ "The Brilliant Emerald". British Dragonfly Society
  3. ^ Steinmann, Henrik (1997). World Catalogue of Odonata II: Anisoptera. De Gruyter. p. 273.
  4. ^ Zhang, Hao-Miao; Vogt, Timothy E.; Cai, Qing-hua (2014). "Somatochlora shennong sp. nov. from Hubei, China (Odonata: Corduliidae)". Zootaxa
  5. ^
  6. ^ Malikova, Elena I. & Kosterin, Oleg E. (2019). "Check-list of Odonata of the Russian Federation". Odonatologica. 48 (1/2): 49–78. doi:10.5281/zenodo.2677689