United States and Canada
The face in mature males is bright orange. The rest of the head is orange and black. The middorsal thoracic carina and stripe are black and the orange antehumeral stripe usually reaches to the anterior half of the humeral suture. The rest of the pterothorax is black with some less-defined paler areas. The legs are light brown with dark stripes on the femora and tibiae. The thorax, including legs, becomes pruinose in older males. The abdomen of teneral males is light brown with dark apical bands on segmen ts 3-6. Segments 9 and 10 are nearly all black dorsally. The abdomen is solid black in older males with pale apical bands persisting in some individuals on segments 1-2 and 9-10. The abdomen becomes lightly pruinose with age. The paraprocts are notched apically with the ventral lobe distinctly hooked when viewed laterally. The cerci are longer and rounded apically. The head and thorax of the female are pale brown. The middorsal carina is pale with a fragmented dark middorsal stripe. The posterior tubercles and medial borders of the mesostigmal plates are both black. The hairline black humeral stripe generally broken or lacking at its middle. The legs are pale. The abdomen is dark dorsally, with subapical bands and lateral stripes on the middle segments. Segments 8-9 and sometimes 10 are dark laterally.

Size: Total length: 30-37 mm; abdomen: 23-30 mm; hindwing: 16-19 mm.

Similar Species (south-central US): Male and female Orange-striped Threadtails (Protoneura cara) have more black on the thorax than orange. Male Amelia's Threadtail (N. amelia) generally have some orange dorsally on abdominal segments 1-3. The female of Amelia's Threadtail is nearly identical to Coral-fronted Threadtail, but Coral-fronted has darker markings on the thorax and abdomen and Amelia's Threadtail has a pair of dark spots on the posterior margin of the middle lobe of the pronotum. Orange Bluet (Enallagma signatum) is similar but the orange on the face and thorax is not as bright or extensive.

Habitat: Protected areas of slow-moving rivers and streams with emergent or floating vegetation or detritus.

Natural History: In our region, Coral-fronted Threadtail has been collected from only a few widely dispersed Texas counties, spanning the Hill Country west to the Devils River and south to the Gulf Coast. It has been infrequently taken farther south.

Distribution: Texas; Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Source: Abbott, J.C. 2006-2010. OdonataCentral: An online resource for the distribution and identification of Odonata. Available at OdonataCentral.

Edited by Drew Weber (9/24/2015).