Tetrathemis godiardi, Libellulidae, is a rarity, very seldom encountered and photographed. Currently, only 4 or 5 photos can be found on the Web, on iNaturalist or observation.org.
It belongs to a genus that includes 14 species worldwide, found in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Eight species are present in Africa, and these species might well belong to another genus, Neophlebia (which Selys created in 1869 for T. polleni).
Two species are present in Ghana, and we were fortunate enough to encounter them: this Tetrathemis godiardi and T. camerunensis, which is much more common.
These are charming small odonates due to their coloration and fabulous eyes, with very loose venation, quite similar from one species to another: for example, here are T. irregularis in Queensland (Australia) and T. platyptera in Vietnam.
The specimen I am presenting first is young, immature, and its eyes are far from having their definitive color.
African species are particularly similar (except for T. polleni) and differ almost exclusively by their anal appendages. There are only very slight differences, which could be considered individual variations, between this species and T. camerunensis; the spots on the abdomen are smaller, it does not have a clear mark on the sixth segment, as Lacroix (1921) tells us; but T. camerunensis does not always have one either…
It is therefore necessary to compare the anal appendages, which I do below, and fortunately, they are very different.
Tetrathemis godiardi male, Ghana, Kakum N.P., 2026-01-14
For Tetrathemis godiardi, it is noted that the anal appendages are short and the epiproct is longer than the cerci; for T. camerunensis, the cerci are long and divergent, concealing (in my photo) the shorter epiproct.
And I truly believe that photos are more illustrative than text, as Lacroix’s description is quite obscure:
Lacroix specifies that the hindwing measures 24 mm and the abdomen 19 mm; the entire insect barely reaches 30 mm.
The species has been recorded from Liberia and Guinea to Cameroon.
IUCN Red List.
Tetrathemis godiardi male, Ghana, Kakum N.P., 2026-01-14
Almost no information can be found on their biology or ecology; we encountered this immature male some distance from a pond. However, the mature specimen, shown below, was photographed (from afar!) on a small forest river where the current was slowed by rocks, forming a calmer basin; in the company of Chlorocypha luminosa and radix, Elattoneura villiersi, and Allocnemis elongata.
Etymology
Tetrathemis (Brauer, 1868), from –tetra for –four and from Themis – Greek goddess of order and justice. The name of the goddess of order is particularly well suited to taxonomy, a science that aims to describe and classify families, genera, and species.
The number 4 refers, as Brauer describes, to the shape of the cardinal cell, which we perhaps improperly call a triangle, and which is quadrangular for this genus.
Godiardi is a tribute to Maxime Godiard who collected and transmitted this specimen from Ghana (Gold Coast). Little information is available about this colonial administrator, stationed at least in Senegal, who reportedly provided valuable logistical and human assistance to French naturalists on missions in French West Africa (AOF).
Ian Endersby & Heinrich Fliedner – The Naming of Australia’s Dragonflies, Ian Endersby & Heinrich Fliedner, Busybird publishing.
Lacroix, 1921 – Deux Odonates nouvelles – Annales de la Société entomologique de Belgique (Vol. 61, Issue 10, p. 378).