Griechische Quelljungfer
(Cordulegaster helladica)

The Greek Goldenring (Cordulegaster helladica) is a member of the so-called bidentata complex (a name which, incidentally, refers to the two teeth on the underside of the male's upper appendages, as opposed to the single tooth in the species of the boltonii complex). During a field trip to the Peloponnese in 2010 we found the species to be quite common and numerous; most of the streams and rivers we visited held good numbers, with some populations numbering in their hundreds. In the field Cordulegaster helladica makes quite a yellow impression, which proved a useful aid for distinguishing it from the Balkan Goldenring (Cordulegaster heros) with which it shared some of the habitats we visited. The species' most distinguishing features include the shape of the male's appendages (uppers straight and parallel; lower trapezium-shaped), the number of cells in the anal triangle (typically three), and the pattern of the yellow marks on the side of the thorax and of S1. For an overview of the key differences between the species of the boltonii-complex and those of the bidentata-complex, hover your mouse pointer here.

For an overview of the Greek Goldenring's distribution in Europe, hover your mouse pointer over the map symbol .
With the authors' permission we have based this map on data published in Kalkman et al. (2010).

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