Chlorogomphus nakamurai

August 1 was an auspicious day, but when roaming inundated grasslands at Cuc Phuong that was not immediately obvious. There were really not that many dragonflies about. Which was strange and I did not like it much. But boring as it was, all of a sudden a large dragonfly wizzed by while I was standing in the middle of a grassy swamp. Not being able to move, I was happy to see it made a big u-turn and tried to wizz by once more. Haha, in the net. To my surprise it was a male Chlorogomphus, a species I did not expect in the open. Research on the photos later showed it to be Chlorogomphus nakamurai, a rare species only known from Cuc Phuong and described in 1995 by Karube.

Posed upon release, Chlorogomphus nakamurai, male

In the hand in all its splendor

Kind enough to show its penis

Lateral view of S10 and appendages

Frontal view of facial pattern