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Fossil history

Members of the crown group Odonata first appeared during the Late Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in the Late Carboniferous, making them one of the earliest groups of winged insects. The fossils of odonates and their cousins, including Paleozoic "giant dragonflies" like Meganeuropsis permiana from the Permian of North America, reached wing spans of up to 71 cm (28 in) and a body length of 43 cm (17 in), making it the largest insect of all time. This insect belonged to the order Meganisoptera, the griffinflies, related to odonates but not part of the modern order Odonata in the restricted sense. They have one of the most complete fossil records going back 319 million years.

The Odonata is closely related to mayflies and several extinct orders in a group called the Palaeoptera, but this grouping might be paraphyletic. What they do share with mayflies is the nature of how the wings are articulated and held in rest.

Tarsophlebiidae is a prehistoric family of Odonatoptera that can be considered either a basal lineage of Odonata or their immediate sister taxon.