United States and Canada
This southwestern species is the only one with a whitish-yellow vertex and uninterrupted middorsal abdominal spots. The top of the frons is broadly marked with yellow and pale narrow brown line medially on the sulcus. The thorax is dull to dark brown with long well-developed antehumeral stripes. These stripes lack touching the alar crest by a distance equal to their width. The wings are clear with yellow costa and a hint of brown basally in females. The legs are brown, becoming black distally. The first abdominal segment bears yellow streak laterally, unique among North American species. There is a wide uninterrupted yellow ring on segment 2 and a row of pale dorsal spots uninterrupted middorsally on segments 3-8.
Size: Total length: 68-75 mm; abdomen: 52-57 mm; hindwing: 45-52 mm.
Similar Species (south-central US): Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa) is brown, emerges earlier in the spring and lacks pale stripes on the front of the thorax. Gilded River Cruiser (M. pacifica) has brilliant green eyes and the yellow color is much brighter.
Habitat: Large rivers and streams.
Natural History: This is the only western river cruiser occurring in the area. Nothing has been published about its biology, but it seems to be typical for the genus. Individuals, particularly males, fly fast over the water some distance from shore. It can be abundant on some pristine western streams.
Distribution: New Mexico, Texas and northern 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).
