**Flapper Hooktail, Paragomphus sabicus, Flaphakiestert**

Short description:

Flapper Hooktail, Paragomphus sabicus, Flaphakiestert is fairly large to large, black and yellow with a slight greenish hue, a large dark club and distinctive long slenderly tapered cerci.

Family Gomphidae Rambur, 1842

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Male

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Key identification features:

Male:

Face mostly bright, light yellow. Top of nose and head is black with a yellow bar between the eyes. Occiput is yellow. Labrum is yellow with black base.
Eyes green above, Dark bluish grey below
Thorax is black with 3 broad pale stripes and between them 2 series of spots (Diagnostic).
Abdomen slender with sharply defined black and yellow alternate, ring-like markings. End of segment 7 and parts of segments 8 and 9 deep reddish brown . Appendages gently curved. Cerci slenderly tapered throughout, at least 1.5x as long as S10, apices of cerci diverge, are slender, tapered, and finely pointed; (d) epiproct laterally rounded, longer and, almost as long as S10 or longer, not so strongly curved upwards; epiproct reaches about midpoint of cerci, without distinct median knobs (lateral view)

Female:

Female are similar to male
Foliations smaller
Black patterning on the side of the thorax and the abdomen is diagnostic

Habitat:

Prefers mostly rivers, but also streams, often with a sandy bottom and probably rocks, shaded by gallery forest, but sometimes found in open landscapes. Often waters with a sandy bottom and probably rocks. Found from 0 to 1200 m above sea level.
From 0 to 1200 m above sea level.

Behaviour:

Perches on bushes or twigs (sometimes high of the ground) in savanna, often away from water.

Comparison Chart

Click Here for a detailed comparison chart of the 5 Hooktail species visible in Southern Africa

Compared with other species:

Similar to Icterogomphus ferox (Common Tigertail), Paragomphus magnus (Great Hooktail), and Flapper Hooktail, Paragomphus sabicus.
The major differences are in the claspers with Lined Claspertail, Onychogomphus supinus having inferior appendages that are very fine, upwardly curved with two fine prongs when viewed from side . Common Tigertail, Ictinogomphus. ferox inferior appendages curves upwards to touch the superior appendages. Great Hooktail, Paragomphus magnus has very large superior appendages with the tips curving back to almost face S10. and no foliations.
The abdominal stripes, dorsal thorax and the markings on the side of the thorax are diagnostic in the mentioned species.
P. magnus has no foliage’s, I ferox has large dark foliations on s 8. P. sabicus has large foliations on s 8 with smaller on s 9.
P. sabicus has 3 spots between the 2 broad stripes on the thorax. Humeral stripes are broken into a dot and a stripe. P. sabicus has superior appendages that are long, slender and gently curved down and outwards, yellow with brown tips.
Abdominal stripes, dorsal thorax and the markings on the side of the thorax are diagnostic in the mentioned species.