Temporary Page

Thysanura

Zygentoma, Silverfish and Firebrats

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
taxon links [down<--]Insecta Interpreting the tree
close box

This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

example of a tree diagram

You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

close box
Containing group: Insecta

Introduction

Under bark, litter, caves, ant nests, deserts, etc. Omnivorous. 4 Families (3 in North America), 370 Species (in North America)

Oligocene to Recent. Lepidotrichidae more widespread in early deposits than currently.

Characteristics

Characteristics:

Other Names for Thysanura

References

Delany, M. J. 1954. Thysanura and Diplura. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, Vol. 1, No. 2. Royal Entomological Society, London. pp. 1-7.

Denis, J. 1949. Ordre des Thysanoures. Pp. 209-275 in P.-P. Grassé (ed.). Traité de Zoologie, Vol. 9. Masson, Paris.

Irish, J. 1989. A new genus of Lepismatidae (Thysanura) inhabiting shrub coppice dunes in the Namib Desert (Namibia). Cimbebasia 11(0):135-144.

Irish, J. and L. F. Mendes. 1988. New genera and species of ultrapsammophilous Namib Desert (Namibia) Lepismatidae (Thysanura). Madoqua 15(4):275-284.

Kaplan, V. G. 1991. Systematics and life forms of silverfishes of the genus Ctenolepisma Esch. (Thysanura, Lepismatidae). Entomological Review 70(8):105-116.

Larink, O. 1997. Apomorphic and plesiomorphic characteristics in Archaeognatha, Monura, and Zygentoma. Pedobiologia 41:3-8.

Lawrence, R. F. 1953. The Biology of the Cryptic Fauna of Forests. A. A . Balkema, Cape Town, South Africa. 408 pp.

Mendes, L. F. 1997. First contribution to the study of the Dominican amber Zygentoma (Insecta). Family Ateluridae. Pedobiologia 41(1-3):40-43.

Mendes, L. F. 1998. Second contribution to the study of the Dominican Republic amber Zygentoma (Insecta): Family Lepismatidae. Can. Entomol. 130(6):899-904.

Paclt, J. 1963. Thysanura fam. Nicoletiidae. Genera Insectorum de P. Wytsman, fasc.216e. 58 pp.

Paclt, J. 1967. Thysanura fam. Lepidotrichidae, Maindroniidae, Lepismatidae. Genera Insectorum de P. Wytsman, fasc. 218e. 86 pp.

Remington, C. L. 1954. The suprageneric classification of the order Thysanura (Insecta). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 47(2):277-286.

Schaller, F. 1968. Soil Animals. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Mich. 144 pp.

Slabaugh, R. E. 1940. A new Thysanuran, and a key to the domestic species of Lepismatidae (Thysanura) found in the United States. Entomol. News 51:95—98.

Smith, G. B. 1998. Review of the Australian Nicoletiinae (Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 12(2):135-189.

Staniczek, A. H. 2000. The mandible of silverfish (Insecta: Zygentoma) and mayflies (Ephemeroptera): Its morphology and phylogenetic significance. Zoologischer Anzeiger 239(2):147-178.

Wallwork, J. A. 1970. Ecology of Soil Animals. McGraw-Hill, London, 283 pp.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1941. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Dipluren und Thysanuren der Schweiz. Denkschr. Schweiz. Naturforsch. Ges. 74(2):113-227.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1955. Thysanura. Pages 83-190 in South African Animal Life 2. Almquist and Wiksells Boktryckari AB, Uppsala, Sweden.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1958. Sobre algunos "Nicoletiidae" americancos (Thysanura, Insecta) [On Some American Nicoletiidae]. Acta Zool. Lilloana 16:97-120.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1961. On the surviving representative of the Lepidothrichidae (Thysanura). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 54:621-627.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1963. On Paclt's Nicoletiidae (Thysanura) in Genera Insectorum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 13 6:265-269.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1972. A review of the silverfish (Lepismatidae, Thysanura) of the United States and Caribbean area. Am. Mus. Novit. (2481):1—26.

Wygodzinsky, P. 1973. Description of a new genus of cave thysanuran from Texas (Nicoletiidae, Thysanura, Insecta). Am. Mus. Novit. (2518):1-8.

Zimmerman, E. C. 1948. Insects of Hawaii, Vol. 2: Apterygota to Thysanoptera inclusive. Order Thysanura. Honolulu. Pp. 29-38.

Information on the Internet

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Thermobia domestica
Location Tucson, Arizona, USA
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2003 David R. Maddison
About This Page

Page: Tree of Life Thysanura. Zygentoma, Silverfish and Firebrats. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Tree of Life Web Project. 2002. Thysanura. Zygentoma, Silverfish and Firebrats. Version 01 January 2002 (temporary). http://tolweb.org/Thysanura/8209/2002.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Thysanura

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top