Brilliant Emerald vs Northern Emerald

Somatochlora metallica compared with Somatochlora arctica

Key Differences

• Brilliant Emerald is Least Concern while Northern Emerald is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brilliant Emerald	Northern Emerald
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Odonata (Odonata)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family same	Corduliidae	Corduliidae
Genus same	Somatochlora	Somatochlora
Species	Somatochlora metallica	Somatochlora arctica

Evolutionary Relationship

Brilliant Emerald and Northern Emerald share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Somatochlora.

Conservation Status

Brilliant Emerald

LC — Least Concern

Northern Emerald

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brilliant Emerald	Northern Emerald
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brilliant Emerald

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Northern Emerald

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Ukraine. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Brilliant Emerald

Brilliant Emerald (Somatochlora metallica) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Northern Emerald

Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden