Forewing sometimes with suggestion of slightly lighter discal bars, usually with no post-discal spots on the forewing, though sometimes one or two near the costa, often faint; hindwing with pale whitish-yellow patch near costal border, dusted with blackish scales; admarginal outer band of both wings light golden-yellow colour, divided by black-scaled veins.

Hindwing has a post-discal broad wedge of bright sky blue clearly demarcated from the admarginal yellow by a well-defined black scalloped border.

The underside has a characteristic mosaic appearance, in common with other members of the Charaxes jasius species Group, traversed by a jumble of bands and of brown, reddish, and grey-blackish patches, all edged with a filigree of white.

The Charaxini taxa harrisoni, saturnalis, and pagenstecheri are now thought to be at least partially fertile hybrid variable phenotypes of (C. saturnus x C. epijasius).

More recent taxonomic revision,[4] corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships.

Within a well-populated clade of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the Miocene,[9] 26 are now considered together as The jasius Group.

[4] One of the two lineages forms a robust clade of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene,[9] and are considered as the jasius subgroup.

This tropical savannah species occurs in Africa from Senegal (the Type Location) in the west, encompassing all the Sub-Saharan savanna belt countries to Nigeria, Cameroun, Central African Republic, across to South Sudan, north-eastwards to Ethiopia, and southwards to Uganda, SW Kenya, and the non-forested margins of N & NE Democratic Republic of Congo.

[12] The adults of both sexes will suck at tree-sap, often crowded up to twenty at a source, and especially fermenting fruit juices, which can be used to bait the species.

[2] Life-sized colour plates and detailed description of the larval and pupal stages of C. epijasius and related species were illustrated by Dr. V. G. L. van Someren.

Shortly prior to hatching at 7–10 days, it changes to olive-yellow with a black head[3] The larva eats the shell immediately after emerging.