Taxon Description (Wikipedia)
Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera). The word
dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but the back-formation
odonate is a more correct English name for the group as a whole. Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term
true dragonfly, or simply
Anisopteran, when referring to just the Anisoptera.
The largest living odonates are the giant Central American damselfly
Megaloprepus coerulatus, and the Giant Hawaiian Darner (
Anax strenuus), a dragonfly endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The prehistoric "giant dragonflies" belonged to the Protodonata (or Meganisoptera), closely related to true dragonflies but not part of the Odonata in the restricted...
full article at Wikipedia
