Meganeuropsis
| Meganeuropsis Temporal range:
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| Diagrammatic reconstruction | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | †Meganisoptera |
| Family: | †Meganeuridae |
| Genus: | †Meganeuropsis Carpenter, 1939 |
| Species | |
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Meganeuropsis is an extinct genus of
Meganeuropsis permiana described in 1939 from Elmo, Kansas. It was one of the largest known insects that ever lived, with a reconstructed wing length of 330 millimetres (13 in), an estimated wingspan of up to 710 millimetres (28 in), and a body length from head to tail of almost 430 millimetres (17 in).[2] The holotype is held in the Museum of Comparative Zoology.[3]
Meganeuropsis americana, discovered in Noble, Oklahoma in 1940, is most probably a junior synonym of Meganeuropsis permiana.[4][5] It is represented by a forewing fragment 280 millimetres (11 in) long. The complete reconstructed wing had an estimated total length of 305 millimetres (12.0 in), making it the largest insect wing ever found (with a resulting wing span of 690 millimetres (27 in)).[6] The holotype is held in the Museum of Comparative Zoology.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Penney, D. and Jepson J. E. (2014): Fossil Insects: An introduction to palaeoentomology. Siri Scientific Press, 224 pages: page 79.
- ^ Mitchell, F.L. and Lasswell, J. (2005): A dazzle of dragonflies Texas A&M University Press, 224 pages: page 47. Google Books
- ^ "Entomology PALE-4340: Meganeuropsis permiana". mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Zessin, W. (2008): Überblick über die paläozoischen Libellen (Insecta, Odonatoptera). Virgo, 11(1): 5-32 PDF
- ^ Grimaldi, D.A. and Engel, M.S. (2005): Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press, 755 pp. Google Books
- ^ "Dragonfly: the largest complete insect wing ever found", Harvard Magazine November–December 2007:112. PDF
- ^ "Entomology PALE-4805: Meganeuropsis americana". mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
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