Brilliant emerald
Species of dragonfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[4]
_teneral_male.jpg)
| Brilliant emerald | |
|---|---|
| teneral male | |
| teneral female both Moat Pond, Thursley Common, Surrey | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Family: | Corduliidae |
| Genus: | Somatochlora |
| Species: | S. metallica |
| Binomial name | |
| Somatochlora metallica (Vander Linden, 1825) | |
| Synonyms | |
_teneral_female_3.jpg)
S. metallica is found across most of northern Eurasia where it is the commonest of its genus.[4] In Great Britain, it is locally common in south east England and has a very restricted population in Scotland.[5]
The East Asian Somatochlora vera, scientifically described in 1914 by Aleksandr Bartenev based on a specimen from Ussuri, Siberia[6] (and later also reported in northern China[7]), is typically treated as part of S. metallica,[3][7] but has also been considered a synonym of the East Asian S. exuberata.[8]
