Onychogomphus uncatus
• English name: Large Pincertail
• German name: Grosse Zangenlibelle
• French name: Gomphe à crochets
• Dutch name: Grote tanglibel
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Gonfo pinzato
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: Rumeni peščenec
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Onychogomphus uncatus
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 in Europe occurs only in the south-west | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Gomphidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Onychogomphus uncatus (Charpentier, 1840) | |
| Name genus | • Onychogomphus: from Grk. ὄνυξ (stem: ὀνυχ) = nail, claw, hook +; connecting vowel -ο-+; γόμφος = bolt, rivet, peg ⇒ for the shape of the male's lower appendage | |
| Name species | • uncatus: from Lat. uncatus, -a, -um = armed with a hook or hooks; [uncus = hook] ⇒ for the shape of the male's appendages | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • fairly fast-flowing rocky streams | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 50-53 mm; hindwing: 29-33 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 |
| • the eyes are typically grey-blue | ||
| ➤ there is no yellow bar on the black vortex | ||
| Thorax | ➤ the black lines on the side of the thorax are wide, leaving a thin antehumeral stripe, and they don't meet the mid-dorsal black stripe | |
| Male | Abdomen | ➤ there is no subterminal knob on the lower appendage |
| Photographs | • all of our photos below were made in Italy and Spain |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view, and the male's head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view.
Onychogomphus forcipatus (left) and O. uncatus (right)
In O. forcipatus note the yellow bar on the vortex and the two black shoulder stripes which are both connected to the mid-dorsal black stripe.
Onychogomphus forcipatus (left) and O. uncatus (right), thorax
In O. uncatus the two black shoulder stripes are typically broad and parallel, while in O. forcipatus these stripes are thinner and wavier, and are both connected to the mid-dorsal black stripe.
Onychogomphus forcipatus (left) and O. uncatus (right); appendages, male
Note: the lower appendage bears a subterminal knob in O. forcipatus but not in O. uncatus.
Large Pincertail (Onychogomphus uncatus)
Male abdomen in dorsal view
Drawing by Ruth Ilka Nüß
© 2013 Lehmann & Nüß and DragonflyPix.com
Large Pincertail (Onychogomphus uncatus)
Male head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view
Drawing by Ruth Ilka Nüß
© 2013 Lehmann & Nüß and DragonflyPix.com
