Thysanura
From Freepedia
| Thysanura | ||||||||||
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| Image:Silverfish enhanced.jpg Silverfish | ||||||||||
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- Silverfish was also the name of a Scottish indie rock band.
Thysanura is an order of small active insects that includes the familiar silverfish Lepisma saccharina and the firebrat. The order includes about 370 species worldwide, in four families. The insects of the order may be called bristletails, from their three long caudal filaments.
Silverfish are so called due to the silvery glitter of the scales covering their bodies. Their movement is "fish-like" and makes it look as if they're swimming. They are less than half an inch long and found in damp corners or amongst books and papers in houses. Although accredited with destroying paper and linen, it probably feeds only on farinaceous (flour) or sugary substances. Silverfish can sometimes be found in bathtubs or sinks at night, as they have difficulty moving on smooth surfaces and so become trapped.
The families Machilidae and Meinerellidae of the jumping bristletails were once included with Thysanura, but now have their own order, Microcoryphia.
There are no current species at conservation risk.
External link
Sources
- Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson, Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition (Thomas Brooks/Cole, 2005), pp. 177-180
- Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders, edited by Christopher O'Toole, ISBN 1-55297-612-2, 2002
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
