Petalura ingentissima

Petalura ingentissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Family: Petaluridae
Genus: Petalura
Species: P. ingentissima
Binomial name
Petalura ingentissima
Tillyard, 1908[1]

Petalura ingentissima, the giant petaltail, has been described as the world's largest dragonfly, with a wingspan of 160 mm.[2] It is found in Queensland, Australia.[3]

Dr R.J. Tillyard described the giant petaltail in 1908.[1] Its species name is derived from the Latin adjective ingens "huge". It is one of five species in the Australian genus Petalura.[4]

A large heavily built dragonfly,[4] the giant petaltail has a black body with some yellow markings.[5] The female's wingspan can be 158-162 mm and body length 125 mm, the largest dragonfly species in overall dimensions although members of the genus Tetracanthagyna can have longer wings and Chlorogomphus papilio a larger wing area.[6]

Measuring 5.9-6.3 cm long,[5] the larvae are unusual in that they live in burrows along the river margin and hunt passing prey.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Tillyard, R. (1908). "On the genus Petalura, with description of a new species". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 32: 708–718 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  2. ↑ "Petalura ingentissima Tillyard". CSIRO website. CSIRO. 19 September 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Species Petalura ingentissima Tillyard, 1908". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Petaluridae". What Bug is That - The Guide to Australian Insect Families. CSIRO. 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 Günther Theischinger, John Henry Hawking (2006). The complete field guide to dragonflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. p. 110. ISBN 0643090738.
  6. ↑ Silsby, Jill (2001). Dragonflies of the World. CSIRO Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 0643065121.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.