| Machilidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pedetontus unimaculatus (female) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Archaeognatha |
| Family: | Machilidae Grassi, 1888 |
TheMachilidae are a family ofinsects belonging to the orderArchaeognatha (the bristletails). There are around 450 described species worldwide.[1] These insects are wingless, elongated and more or less cylindrical with a distinctive humpedthorax and covered with tiny, close-fittingscales. The colour is usually grey or brown, sometimes intricately patterned. There are three "tails" at the rear of theabdomen: twocerci and a long centralepiproct. They have largecompound eyes, often meeting at a central point. They resemble thesilverfish and thefirebrat, which are from a different order,Zygentoma.
Machilids undergo virtually nometamorphosis during their life cycles, and bothnymphs and adults are generally inconspicuousherbivores andscavengers. Many species are restricted to rockyshorelines, but some are found in well-vegetated habitats inland. They can move very fast and often escape by jumping considerable distances when disturbed.
Like all Archaeognatha, machilids transfer sperm indirectly from male to female. Some species can spin silken threads that lead the female to the spermatophore. Other species can produce silken stalks on which they place droplets of sperm.
There are no aquatic species, but somelittoral forms, such asParapetrobius andPetrobius, can swim.[2]
Their fossil records extends back into the Triassic with the genusGigamachilis from the Middle Triassic of Italy and Switzerland, around 240 million years old.[3][4]
Source:[5]
Authority control databases: National |
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