The name Apterygota is sometimes applied to a former subclass of small, agile insects, distinguished from other insects by their lack of wings in the present and in their evolutionary history; notable examples are the silverfish, the firebrat, and the jumping bristletails. Their first known occurrence in the fossil record is during the Devonian period, 417–354 million years ago. The group Apterygota is not a clade; it is paraphyletic, and not recognized in modern classification schemes. As defined, the group contains two separate clades of wingless insects: Archaeognatha comprises jumping bristletails, while Zygentoma comprises silverfish and firebrats. The Zygentoma are in the clade Dicondylia with winged insects, a clade that includes all other insects, while Archaeognatha is sister to this lineage.
Lepismatidae is a family of primitive wingless insects with about 190 described species. This family contains the two most familiar members of the order Zygentoma: the silverfish and the firebrat. It is one of five families in the order Zygentoma.
Zygentoma are an order in the class Insecta, and consist of about 550 known species. The Zygentoma include the so-called silverfish or fishmoths, and the firebrats. A conspicuous feature of the order are the three long caudal filaments. The two lateral filaments are cerci, and the medial one is an epiproct or appendix dorsalis. In this they resemble the Archaeognatha, although the cerci of Zygentoma, unlike in the latter order, are nearly as long as the epiproct.
Ctenolepisma lineatum is a species of insect of the order Zygentoma. It is similar to the closely related silverfish but can be distinguished by being rather stouter and less shiny with all appendages noticeably longer. The abdomen is often marked with dark brown lines and the species is sometimes called four-lined silverfish.
Ctenolepisma almeriense is a species of primitive insect of the order Zygentoma. Members of this species were once attributed to the widespread species Ctenolepisma lineatum but there are small but consistent differences which mark this as a separate species. It is found exclusively in south-eastern Spain, on Mediterranean slopes of the provinces of Alicante, Almería, Murcia and Valencia.
A silverfish is a wingless insect in the order Zygentoma. The same name can be applied to many species in the order as a whole, which comprises the families Lepismatidae, Nicoletiidae, Lepidotrichidae, Maindroniidae and Protrinemuridae.
The silverfish is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma. Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. The scientific name indicates that the silverfish's diet consists of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches. While the common name silverfish is used throughout the global literature to refer to various species of Zygentoma, the Entomological Society of America restricts use of the term solely for Lepisma saccharinum.
Thermobia aegyptiaca is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae. The species was described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1840 based on specimens collected in Egypt. Thermobia aegyptiaca is distributed in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean Basin.
Ctenolepisma dubitale is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae.
Ctenolepisma guanche is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae.
Ctenolepisma hummelincki is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea.
Ctenolepisma insulicola is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae.
Ctenolepisma rothschildi is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae. It is found in Africa, Australia, the Caribbean Sea, Europe and Northern Asia, Central America, North America, Oceania, South America, and Southern Asia.
Ctenolepisma tanzanicum is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae.
Ctenolepisma targionii is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae. It is found in North America.
Ctenolepisma terebrans is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae.
Ctenolepisma versluysi is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae.
Ctenolepisma vieirai is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae. It is found in Europe.
Ctenolepisma longicaudatum, generally known as the gray silverfish, long-tailed silverfish or paper silverfish, is a species of Zygentoma in the family Lepismatidae. It was described by the German entomologist Karl Leopold Escherich in 1905 based on specimens collected in South Africa, but is found worldwide as synanthrope in human housings.
Sceletolepisma is a genus of primitive insects closely related to the silverfish and firebrat but less reliant on human habitation, some species being found both indoors and outdoors and some found exclusively outdoors. The genus is distributed nearly worldwide in warm regions.
