The giant Hawaiian darner (''Anax strenuus''), also known as the giant Hawaiian dragonfly or pinao, is a species of
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 ...
in the family
Aeshnidae
Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 species.
The family includes some of the largest dragonflies.
Description
Common worldwide or nearl ...
. It is one of two species of dragonfly that is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
(the other is ''
Nesogonia blackburni''). 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.
This species is one the world's largest living dragonflies and the largest in the United States.
[ It typically has a wingspan of ,]Anax
(Greek alphabet, Greek: ; from earlier , ') is an ancient Greek word for "tribal chief, lord (military) leader".. It is one of the two Greek titles traditionally translated as "king", the other being basileus, and is inherited from Mycenaean G ...
'' 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.[
]
See also
* '' Anax walsinghami'' (giant darner or giant green darner), the largest dragonfly in the US mainland
* '' Megalagrion'', a genus of damselflies found only in Hawaii
* ''Tetracanthagyna plagiata
The giant hawker (''Tetracanthagyna plagiata'') or the gigantic riverhawker, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found throughout Sundaland, having been recorded on Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Born ...
'' (giant hawker or gigantic riverhawker), an Asian species with the largest verified wingspan for a dragonfly
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1375649
Aeshnidae
Insects of Hawaii
Insects described in 1867
Endemic fauna of Hawaii