page_title: Odonata
hierarchical_section_title: Odonata
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch&#x3a;&#32; Zusammengesetzter Abdruck des Paratypus LdLAP 392, hinterlegt im Musée Fleury in Lodève. Die Flügelspannweite beträgt 68 cm.English&#x3a;&#32; Reassembled paratype imprint specimen LdLAP 392, reposited at the Musée Fleury at Lodève. The wingspan is 68cm.Français&#x202f;&#x3a;&#32; Composite de l'empreinte du paratype LdLAP 392 déposé au Musée Fleury, à Lodève. L’envergure est de 68cm.
context_page_description: The Odonata are an order of flying insects, the dragonflies and damselflies.
  Like most of the flying insects, they evolved in the early Mesozoic era. Their prototypes, the giant dragonflies of the Carboniferous, 325 mya, are no longer put in the Odonata. These are now called Protodonata or Meganisoptera.
  The two suborders are easily distinguished:
  Dragonflies: they are Anisoptera
  Damselflies: they are Zygoptera
  All Odonata have aquatic larvae called 'nymphs', and all of them, larvae and adults, are carnivorous. The adults can land, but rarely walk. Their legs are specialised for catching prey. They are almost entirely insectivorous.
context_section_description: The Odonata are an order of flying insects, the dragonflies and damselflies.
  Like most of the flying insects (flies, beetles, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera), they evolved in the early Mesozoic era. Their prototypes, the  giant dragonflies of the Carboniferous, 325 mya, are no longer put in the Odonata. These are now called Protodonata or Meganisoptera.
  The two suborders are easily distinguished:
  Dragonflies: they are Anisoptera (= usually larger, eyes together & wings up or out at rest)
  Damselflies: they are Zygoptera (= usually smaller, eyes apart & wings along body at rest)
  All Odonata have aquatic larvae called 'nymphs', and all of them, larvae and adults, are carnivorous. The adults can land, but rarely walk. Their legs are specialised for catching prey. They are almost entirely insectivorous.
caption: The giant Upper Carboniferous dragonfly ancestor, Meganeura monyi, had a wingspan of about 680 mm (27 in).[1] Museum of Toulouse
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Meganeura monyi au Museum de Toulouse", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D850", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2019:02:07 17:20:32", "Image Artist": "Didier Descouens", "Image ExifOffset": "2410", "Image XPTitle": "[77, 0, 101, 0, 103, 0, 97, 0, 110, 0, 101, 0, 117, 0, 114, 0, 97, 0, 32, 0, ... ]", "Image XPAuthor": "Didier Descouens", "Image XPKeywords": "[77, 0, 101, 0, 103, 0, 97, 0, 110, 0, 101, 0, 117, 0, 114, 0, 97, 0, 32, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5460", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5302", "EXIF ExposureTime": "2", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:02:06 16:40:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:02:06 16:40:06", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "-1", "EXIF ApertureValue": "290241/62500", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "95", "EXIF SubSecTime": "54", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "54", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "54", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "7357", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4626", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "75409805/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "75409805/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Custom", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "95", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "6017486", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 120, 4, 4]", "EXIF LensModel": "24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}