Austroaeschna obscura
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Austroaeschna obscura is a large species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae, known as the Sydney mountain darner. It is found in the Sydney Basin in Australia, where it inhabits rivers and streams. Austroaeschna obscura is a very dark dragonfly with distinct pale markings. It appears similar to the more widespread multi-spotted darner, Austroaeschna multipunctata.
The genus name Austroaeschna combines the prefix austro- (from Latin auster, meaning “south wind”, hence “southern”) with Aeshna, a genus of dragonflies. The species name obscura is derived from the Latin obscurus ("dark" or "obscured"), referring to its darker colouring compared with Austroaeschna multipunctata.
List of dragonflies of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sydney Mountain Darner sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 89 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 789 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sydney Mountain Darner in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to November, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sydney Mountain Darner sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Blue Mountains National Park, in our data
Blue Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sydney Mountain Darner sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sydney Mountain Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Blue Mountains National Park (89 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
