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Archaeognatha

 

 
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Archaeognatha
 
 
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Archaeognatha is an order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
 of wingless insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, also known as jumping bristletails. They are among the least evolutionarily changed insects, appearing in the Devonian
Devonian

The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era spanning from . It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied....
 period along with the arachnid
Arachnid

Arachnids are a class of Arthropod invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, but some exceptions are of some species having the first pair legs convert to sensory function and harvest mite larvae have only 3 pairs of legs....
s. The name Archaeognatha is derived from Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 Archaeos meaning "ancient" and gnatha meaning "jaw
Mouthparts

The mouthparts of arthropods have evolution into a number of forms, each adaptation to a different style or mode of feeding. Most mouthparts represent modified, paired appendages, which in ancestral forms would have appeared more like legs than mouthparts....
". This refers to the articulation of the mandibles, which has a single condyle
Condyle

A Condyle is the knuckle of any joint, a round projection, rounded articular area one of the markings/features of bones, can refer to:* Lateral condyle Femur and Tibia...
, where all higher insects have two.






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Archaeognatha is an order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
 of wingless insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, also known as jumping bristletails. They are among the least evolutionarily changed insects, appearing in the Devonian
Devonian

The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era spanning from . It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied....
 period along with the arachnid
Arachnid

Arachnids are a class of Arthropod invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, but some exceptions are of some species having the first pair legs convert to sensory function and harvest mite larvae have only 3 pairs of legs....
s. The name Archaeognatha is derived from Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 Archaeos meaning "ancient" and gnatha meaning "jaw
Mouthparts

The mouthparts of arthropods have evolution into a number of forms, each adaptation to a different style or mode of feeding. Most mouthparts represent modified, paired appendages, which in ancestral forms would have appeared more like legs than mouthparts....
". This refers to the articulation of the mandibles, which has a single condyle
Condyle

A Condyle is the knuckle of any joint, a round projection, rounded articular area one of the markings/features of bones, can refer to:* Lateral condyle Femur and Tibia...
, where all higher insects have two. An alternate name, Microcoryphia comes from the Greek micro meaning "small" and coryphia meaning head.

The Order Archaeognatha has previously been combined with the Order Thysanura
Thysanura

The insects of the order Thysanura, usually referred to as silverfish, may also be called bristletails, from their three long caudal filaments....
, or bristletails, both of which groups possess three-pronged tails comprising two cerci
Cercus

Cerci are paired appendages on the rear-most segments of many arthropods, including insects and arachnids but not crustaceans. Cerci often serve as sensory organs, but they may also be used as weapons or copulation aids, or they may simply be vestigial structures....
 and an epiproct. Archaeognatha differ from Thysanura in being able to use their tail to spring up to 30 cm into the air. They are also unique in possessing small, articulated "styli" on the hind (and sometimes middle) coxae
Arthropod leg

The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus , ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus , patella....
 and sternites 2 to 9, which are sometimes considered to be rudimentary appendage
Appendage

An appendage in the broadest sense is an additional or subsidiary part existing on, or added to, something which can generally still function if the appendage has never existed or is later provided or grown, or will still perform a primary function if the appendage is removed....
s, as well as paired eversible vesicles (membranous water-absorbing organs). Further unusual features are that the abdominal sternites are each composed of three sclerite
Sclerite

A sclerite is a hardened body part. The term is used in various branches of biology for various structures including hardened portions of Porifera, but it is most commonly used for the hardened portions of arthropod exoskeletons....
s, and they cement themselves to the substrate before molting
Ecdysis

Ecdysis is the molting of the cuticula in arthropods and related groups . Since the cuticula of these animals is also the skeletal support of the body and is inelastic, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed....
. Like Thysanura
Thysanura

The insects of the order Thysanura, usually referred to as silverfish, may also be called bristletails, from their three long caudal filaments....
, the body is covered with scales, with a thin exoskeleton
Exoskeleton

An exoskeleton is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human skeleton....
 that is susceptible to dehydration.

There are approximately 350 species in the two families. They are distributed worldwide, and unusual in the insect world in that they can even be found in the Arctic
Arctic

The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctica region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland....
 where they live in leaf litter and rock crevices. They feed primarily on algae
Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
, but also lichen
Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiosis association of a fungus with a Photosynthesis partner , usually either a green algae or Cyanobacteria ....
s, moss
Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1?10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations....
es, or decaying organic materials.

There are no species at current conservation risk, though the order is one of the most poorly-studied among insects, and therefore it may simply be that no one has yet recognized that any species are at risk.

Sources


External links

  • - Tree of Life Web Project
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State College Department of Entomology