Griekse vuurjuffer (Pyrrhosoma elisabethae)
• English name: Greek Red Damsel
• German name: Balkan-Adonislibelle
• French name: N/A
• Dutch name: Griekse vuurjuffer
• 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
Griekse vuurjuffer
(Pyrrhosoma elisabethae)
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | ➤ a fairly large species with red eyes and a red-and-black body which occurs only in parts of Albania and Greece and on Corfu | |
| Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Critically Endangered, Endemic | |
| Scientific name | • Pyrrhosoma elisabethae Schmidt, 1948 | |
| Name genus | • Pyrrhosoma: from Grk. πυρρός = fiery red +; σῶμα = body | |
| Name species | • elisabethae: after Elisabeth Ris (1872-1959), sister of Friedrich Ris (1867-1931), Swiss entomologist | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • well-vegetated streams | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 36-38 mm; hindwing: 20-24 mm | |
| Notes | • the amount of red on the eyes, thorax and abdomen may be very limited or even absent (as it is in the form melanotum) | |
| Both sexes | Head | • the eyes are red or brown and traversed by two dark horizontal lines |
| Thorax | • the antehumeral stripe is wide | |
| Wings | • the pterostigma is uniformly dark | |
| Legs | • the legs are black | |
| Male | Abdomen | ➤ compared to P. nymphula the lower appendages are longer and the ventral hook is shorter; click or tap here for a schematic and a photographic overview of these differences |
| Female | Thorax | ➤ unlike in P. nymphula there are deep folds in the pronotum; click or tap here for a schematic and a photographic overview |
| Photographs | • all of our photos below were made on Corfu in 2008 and on the Peloponnese in 2015 |
Pyrrhosoma nymphula (left) and P. elisabethae (right); appendages, male
Note in P. elisabethae the longer lower appendages (red arrow) and shorter ventral hook (blue arrow).
Drawings © V. Kalkman. Reproduced here with the author's permission.
Pyrrhosoma nymphula (left) and P. elisabethae (right); appendages, male
Note in P. elisabethae the longer lower appendages (red arrow) and shorter ventral hook (blue arrow).
Pyrrhosoma nymphula (left) and P. elisabethae (right); pronotum, female
Note in P. elisabethae the deep folds in the pronotum.
Drawings © V. Kalkman. Reproduced here with the author's permission.
Pyrrhosoma nymphula (left) and P. elisabethae (right); pronotum, female
Note in P. elisabethae the deep folds in the pronotum.
