White-belted Ringtail - Erpetogomphus compositus

Leslie Flint spotted this male White-belted Ringtail, Erpetogomphus compositius, hunting low near a riffle along Bear Creek, August 28th. She followed it to a perch, where it obliged us by staying a while for photographs. 

The White-belted Ringtail has an well-chosen scienticfic name, as compositus suggests that may have very varied features. Indeed, it looks like a colored drawing filled in by a artistic youngster. Gray face, blue-gray eyes, multi-colored stripes on the thorax, white-rings along the black abdomen, and yellow-orange on the last 3 segment of the abdomen that form the "club" on the male. The female looks similar, but without a clubbed tail end. 

The Ringtails, genus Erpetogomphus, include about 22 species, of which 6 are seen in Western U.S. (Paulson), but only 2 in California (Manolis). Ringtails are restricted to the Americas, whereas other clubtails may have a worldwide distribution. Like most Clubtails, the Ringtails are found along rivers and streams, usually those with a gravel or sandy bed. Most of the 22 species are more green in color that this wild composite. Here's a closer view of the remarkable eyes and face:

Cropped view of the White-belted male, to show face and thorax detail

The Ringtail are just one of about 13 genera of dragonflies that make up the Clubtail family called Clubtails, the Gomphidae. The Clubtails as a family are indeed very diverse, with at least 13 genera seen in the U.S., including Sanddragon, Leaftail, Forktail, Hanging and Pond Clubtail, Common Clubtail, Least Clubtail, Spinyleg, Dragonhunter (gotta love that one!), and Grappletail. All Clubtails have widely separated eyes (check out the close-up above), compared to the eyes of most dragonfly families where the eyes are close and often touch at the midline, and most are found along rivers and streams where they choose a horizontal perch. Worldwide, there are a total of about 90 genera in the Clubtail family, numbering some 900 species. Quite a group to study, although not nearly as numerous as the Skimmer family,Libellulidae.

The Clubtails are one of the 12 families that make up the suborder of Dragonflies, Anisoptera. Families seen in the U.S., besides the Clubtails, are the Petaltails, Darneres, S;piketails, Cruisers, Emeralds, and Skimmers.