''Petalura ingentissima'', the giant petaltail, has been described as the world's largest

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

, with a wingspan of 160 mm. It is found in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Dr R.J. Tillyard described the giant petaltail in 1908. Its species name is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

adjective ''ingens'' "huge". It is one of five species in the Australian genus '' Petalura''. A large heavily built dragonfly, the giant petaltail has a black body with some yellow markings. 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. Measuring 5.9-6.3 cm long, the larvae are unusual in that they live in burrows along the river margin and hunt passing prey.

Gallery

Giant Petaltail 3A8593.jpg, Female at Tully Gorge, Queensland 013323996 Petalura ingentissima dorsal.jpg,

Type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

, male, held at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

Petalura ingentissima female wings (34665011080).jpg, Female wings Petalura ingentissima male wings (34888496542).jpg, Male wings

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5558402 Petaluridae Odonata of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Taxa named by Robert John Tillyard Insects described in 1908

Gallery

See also

References