Pantala flavescens | |
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male, Kerala, India | |
female, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Odonata |
Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
Family: | Libellulidae |
Genus: | Pantala |
Species: | P. flavescens
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Binomial name | |
Pantala flavescens | |
Distribution of Pantala flavescens | |
Synonyms | |
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Pantala flavescens,[3] the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider,[1] is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae.[1] This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798.[4] It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet, with good population on every continent except Antarctica, although rare in Europe.[1][5] Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km (about 11,200 miles); to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km (3,730 miles)—one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
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