Kingdom Animalia Family Corduliidae Scientific name Oxygastra curtisii Rank Species | Class Insecta Genus Oxygastra Phylum Arthropoda Order Odonate | |
 | ||
Similar Odonate, Downy emerald, Gomphus graslinii, Macromia splendens, Somatochlora | ||
The orange-spotted emerald (Oxygastra curtisii) is a dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It is the only species in its genus.
The orange-spotted emerald is about 53 millimetres (2.1 in) long. It has bright green eyes and a bronzy-green body with yellow spots along the top of the abdomen. The last segment of the abdomen (S10) has a prominent yellow mark on the upper surface.
The species occurs in much of Europe but is regionally extinct in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Its habitat is slow flowing streams, pools and ponds.
Status in Britain
This species was only ever known from two areas in southern England, one around the River Stour and Moors River in east Dorset, where the species was recorded from 1820 to 1963, and the other on the River Tamar in Devon where the species was recorded in 1946 only.