Gefleckter Wasserfallkreuzer (Zygonyx torridus)
• English name: Ringed Cascader
• German name: Gefleckter Wasserfallkreuzer
• French name: N/A
• Dutch name: Watervallibel
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Freccia di cascata
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: N/A
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Gefleckter Wasserfallkreuzer
(Zygonyx torridus)
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 large species which in Europe occurs only in Iberia and on the Canary Islands and Sicily | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Libellulidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Vulnerable | |
| Scientific name | • Zygonyx torridus (Kirby, 1889) | |
| Name genus | • Zygonyx: from Grk. ζύγον = yoke, homogeneous pair +; ὄνυξ = nail, claw, hook ⇒ in reference to the shape of the tarsi | |
| Name species | • torridus: from Lat. (zona) torrida = torrid, tropical (region) ⇒ the species was first described from Sierra Leone, in the West-African tropics | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | ➤ waterfalls and rapids in fast-flowing rivers and streams | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 50-60 mm; hindwing: 45-50 mm | |
| Notes | • often oviposits while flying in tandem | |
| • males spend a great deal of time on the wing, defending their territory against other males and waiting for females | ||
| • when resting, hangs rather than sits | ||
| Male | Thorax | • the thorax is brown-black |
| Abdomen | ➤ the abdomen is black with extensive yellow spots | |
| Female | Thorax | • the thorax is brown with yellow patches on the side |
| Abdomen | ➤ the abdomen is black with extensive yellow spots; females tend to have more yellow on the abdomen than males | |
| Photographs | • all of our photos below were made in Andalusia and on the Canary Islands |
