Thylacine Darner

Acanthaeschna victoria is a large, brown dragonfly with a distinctive dark band on the side of its body that runs from the head to the abdomen. Their abdomens are long and thin with bands around the segments. It has clear wings with a small dark stain at the nodus, the joint near the middle of the leading edge of each wing. The pterostigma is clear with a yellowish tinge to it.

The genus name Acanthaeschna is derived from the Greek ἄκανθα (akantha, "thorn" or "spine"), combined with -aeschna, a suffix commonly used for dragonflies associated with the Aeshna group. The name refers to the spine-like teeth at the tip of the female abdomen. In 1901, René Martin named this species victoria, possibly in reference to Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.