Common Hooktail

Paragomphus genei · Order: Odonata · Family: Gomphidae

Also called: Green Hooktail, Common Lesser Brown-tail

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Common Hooktail
Photo: Wynand Uys, CC BY

The common hooktail is a small clubtail dragonfly about 5 cm long with a wingspan up to 6.2 cm. It has a bright green face and thorax, brown-striped abdomen, and long yellow claspers that are hooked. It lives near rivers, lakes, marshes and various savanna and forest habitats across many African countries, the Middle East and the southern Iberian Peninsula.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Green face with greenish-brown eyes, bright green thorax with dull brown stripes, thin abdomen with brown, yellow and black markings, and long yellow hooked claspers.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Reaches about 50 mm in length and up to 62 mm wingspan.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Found in moist lowland forests, dry and moist savannas, dry and moist shrublands, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes and marshes. Also occurs in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Native to many African nations including Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and others. Its range extends to Israel, Oman, United Arab Emirates and the southern Iberian Peninsula in Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Common Hooktail photo 3
Photo: gailhampshire, CC BY

Same family (Gomphidae)

Small PincertailSmall PincertailOnychogomphus forcipatusDragonhunterDragonhunterHagenius brevistylusBlack-shouldered SpinylegBlack-shouldered SpinylegDromogomphus spinosusCommon ClubtailCommon ClubtailGomphus vulgatissimusEastern RingtailEastern RingtailErpetogomphus designatusIndian Common ClubtailIndian Common ClubtailIctinogomphus rapax

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragomphus_genei

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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