Green Snaketail (Ophiogomphus cecilia)
• English name: Green Snaketail
• German name: Grüne Flussjungfer
• French name: Gomphe serpentin
• Dutch name: Gaffellibel
• Swedish name: Grön flodtrollslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Kirjojokikorento
• Danish name: Grøn kølleguldsmed
• Italian name: Gonfo serpentino
• Czech name: klínatka rohatá
• Slovenian name: Kačji potočnik
• Bulgarian name: Зеленогръдо цигулче
Green Snaketail
(Ophiogomphus cecilia)
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a medium-sized green, black and yellow species which occurs mainly in central and eastern Europe | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Gomphidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Ophiogomphus cecilia (Fourcroy, 1785) | |
| Name genus | • Ophiogomphus: from Grk. ὄφις = snake +; connecting vowel -ο-+; γόμφος = bolt, rivet, peg | |
| Name species | • cecilia: after the French girl's name Cécile, a name apparently randomly chosen by Geoffroy | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • slow-flowing rivers with a sandy bottom | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 50-60 mm; hindwing: 30-36 mm | |
| Notes | • gomphids are 'sitters': they spend a lot of time perched on rocks and vegetation | |
| ➤ unmistakable: the only gomphid in Europe that combines green, yellow and black | ||
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ like in all other gomphids, the eyes are widely separated |
| • the eyes and head are green | ||
| Thorax | • the thorax is green with thin black lines on the side | |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is black with large yellow dorsal spots | |
| Photographs | • all of our photos below were made in Bavaria |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view, and the male's head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view.
