UPDATED CHECKLIST: An Adobe pdf version of the checklist as at December 2018 is available here (click to view/download - approx 10 MB).

View lists of Odonata: Dragonflies and Damselflies by eighth degree grid square

Ceratogomphus pictus
      Common Thorntail
   

View photos in Biodiversity Explorer

Distribution: Common throughout most of South Africa, up to about 1200 m a.s.l. To D R Congo.
Body Length: 53-54 mm
Hind Wing Length: 29-30 mm
Habitat: Open dams, pools, and rivers with pools.
Flight Period: Mostly December to April, occasionally October and May.
Features: Large, yellow, greenish yellow and brownish black, with yellow costa, narrow club formed mostly by large foliations only on S8, and a sharp, forward-pointing dorsal spike on S10. Perches on ground near open pools and on boulders in streams throughout much of South Africa.
Comments: Occurrence in Eswatini confirmed by photos by Gerhard Diedericks and Kate Braun.

2 records, from 11/9/2016 to 11/10/2017

Information extracted from "Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa" by Michael J Samways, which also includes detailed descriptions of each species.