St. Croix Snaketail Ophiogomphus susbehcha Vogt & Smith, 1993S1 (Highly state rare)  -  Vulnerable    Synonyms: Chesapeake Snaketail.
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Odonata   >   Family Gomphidae   >   Genus Ophiogomphus   

Status:

St. Croix Snaketail (Ophiogomphus susbehcha) has an interesting history in Maryland. For a number of years, unidentified early-emerging Ophiogomphus were known from the Potomac and one or two other rivers in the region. A male specimen was collected from Frederick Co. by Richard Orr in 2002, and a fair number of exuviae were collected over the next decade or so. As more adult specimens were collected, and the known range was expanded to include the James River in Virginia, the snaketail compared to other Ophiogomphus, and was found to be extremely close to Ophiogomphus susbehcha of Wisconsin. The eastern individuals differed primarily in smaller size than that of the types. The eastern snaketails ('Chesapeake Snaketail') are now considered by several experts to be conspecific with susbehcha, but perhaps warranting a subspecific designation (Richard Orr's account of the discovery and identification progress at http://www.marylandinsects.com/PotomacSnaketail.html). This species in Maryland is known only from the Potomac River in Frederick Co., and is consequently ranked as S1 (highly state rare).

There are 14 records in the project database.

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A Chesapeake Snaketail in Washington Co., Maryland (4/27/2013). Photo by Richard Orr. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

A male St. Croix Snaketail in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/29/2015). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

St. Croix Snaketail in Maryland (Date obscured). (c) daveczaplak, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Dave Czaplak. (MBP list)

A cast skin (female) of a Chesapeake Snaketail in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

A cast skin (male) of a Chesapeake Snaketail in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

St. Croix Snaketail in Montgomery Co., Maryland (4/15/2021). (c) Dave Roberts, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Dave Roberts. (MBP list)

St. Croix Snaketail in Montgomery Co., Maryland (4/15/2021). (c) Dave Roberts, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Dave Roberts. (MBP list)

St. Croix Snaketail in Montgomery Co., Maryland (4/15/2021). (c) Dave Roberts, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Dave Roberts. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail cast skin found along the Potomac River in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail cast skin found along the Potomac River in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail cast skin found along the Potomac River in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail cast skin found along the Potomac River in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail cast skin found along the Potomac River in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail cast skin found along the Potomac River in Frederick Co., Maryland (4/25/2012). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Chesapeake Snaketail specimen collected from the James River, Virginia by Steve Roble (4/23/2011). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

St. Croix Snaketail in Maryland (Date obscured). (c) daveczaplak, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Dave Czaplak. (MBP list)

The subgenital plate of a female Chesapeake Snaketail collected from the James River, Virginia by Steve Roble (4/23/2011). Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

St. Croix Snaketail in Maryland (Date obscured). (c) daveczaplak, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Dave Czaplak. (MBP list)


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