Giant Hawaiian darner

"Pinao" redirects here. Not to be confused with Pijao people.

Giant Hawaiian darner
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Family: Aeshnidae
Genus: Anax
Species:
A. strenuus
Binomial name
Anax strenuus
Hagen, 1867

The giant Hawaiian darner (Anax strenuus), also known as the giant Hawaiian dragonfly or pinao, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is one of two species of dragonfly that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (the other is Nesogonia blackburni).[2] It is found near streams and wetlands on all islands of the archipelago and it has a wide altitude range, but is particularly common at higher elevations.[3]

This species is one the world's largest living dragonflies and the largest in the United States.[3] It typically has a wingspan of 127–143 mm (5.0–5.6 in),[4] but has been verified to reach up to 152 mm (6.0 in);[5] reports of considerably greater sizes are unverified and highly questionable.[6] The only other member of the genus Anax in Hawaii is the closely related green darner (A. junius), but it is considerably smaller, mainly found in lowlands in Hawaii, and also found in Asia and North America.[3][4]

  1. ^ Polhemus, D.A. (2021). "Anax strenuus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T50960473A139114905. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T50960473A139114905.en. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ Howarth, Francis G.; Mull, William P. (1992). Hawaiian insects and their kin. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1469-4.
  3. ^ a b c "Anax strenuus". Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  4. ^ a b Williams, F.X. (1936). "Biological Studies in Hawaiian Water-Loving Insects, PART I Coleoptera or Beetles, PART II Odonata or Dragonflies". Proc. Haw. Ent. Soc. IX (2): 235–349.
  5. ^ Ali, A. (2022), External Morphology of Dragonflies and Damselflies, Department of Anatomy and Histology, Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh
  6. ^ Wilson, K. (2009). "Dragonfly Giants". Agrion. 13 (1): 29–31.