Austroaeschna unicornis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Austroaeschna unicornis is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae, known as the unicorn darner. It is found in eastern Australia, from Brisbane to Tasmania and around Adelaide in South Australia, where it inhabits rivers and streams.
Austroaeschna unicornis is a long-bodied, brown to black dragonfly with pale blue markings. 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 unicornis is Latin for "one-horned", referring to a horn-like projection on the back of the female’s head. Until recently, Austroaeschna pinheyi was considered to be a subspecies of Austroaeschna unicornis.
List of dragonflies of Australia Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Unicorn Darner sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 287th most-seen of the 875 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January to March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Unicorn Darner in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in April to December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Unicorn Darner sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Melbourne, in our data
Melbourne is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Unicorn Darner sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Aeshnidae
The closest relatives of the Unicorn Darner that you can see in Melbourne (family Aeshnidae, Darners) are Australian Emperor (about 10%) and Blue-Spotted Hawker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Unicorn Darner is recorded against all the insects logged in Melbourne (40 verified sightings), 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.
