Pronged Clubtail (Gomphus graslinii)
• English name: Pronged Clubtail
• German name: Französische Keiljungfer
• French name: Gomphe de Graslin
• Dutch name: Gevorkte rombout
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: N/A
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: N/A
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Pronged Clubtail
(Gomphus graslinii)
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | ➤ a medium-sized black-and yellow species which occurs only in Iberia and the south-west of France | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Gomphidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Near Threatened, Endemic | |
| Scientific name | • Gomphus graslinii Rambur, 1842 | |
| Name genus | • Gomphus: from Grk. γόμφος = bolt, rivet, peg | |
| Name species | • graslinii: after Adolphe Hercule de Graslin (1802-1882), French lepidopterist | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • slow-flowing rivers and streams with a sandy bottom | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 47-50 mm; hindwing: 27-30 mm | |
| Notes | • gomphids are 'sitters': they spend a lot of time perched on rocks and vegetation | |
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ like in all other gomphids, the eyes are widely separated |
| Thorax | • the black lines on the side of the thorax are fairly thick | |
| ➤ the antehumeral stripe is very narrow | ||
| Legs | • the legs are black with yellow lines on the femura | |
| Male | Abdomen | ➤ the upper appendages bear a large tooth on the side |
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in Andalusia in 2010 and 2015 |
LineDrawing: the male's head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view.
Gomphus graslinii (left) and G. simillimus (right); thorax, male
Note: the antehumeral stripe in G. graslinii is much narrower than the black stripes above and below it. By contrast, in G. simillimus it is roughly as wide as the black stripes above and below it.
Pronged Clubtail (Gomphus graslinii)
Male head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view
Drawing by Ruth Ilka Nüß
© 2013 Lehmann & Nüß and DragonflyPix.com
