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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Two-pronged Bristletails (Diplura)

Class Diplura - Two-pronged Bristletails

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · See Also · Print References · Works Cited
Diplura Japygid two-pronged bristletail japygid dipluran SBBG-SCL-TIC_000183 Campodea sp. - Campodea Occasjapyx americanus? - Evalljapyx saundersi Campodea
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Diplura (Two-pronged Bristletails)
Other Common Names
Diplurans
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Order Diplura was promoted to class Diplura when Entognatha was found to by polyphyletic.
Explanation of Names
Diplura Börner 1904
'double-tailed'
Numbers
~160 species in >30 genera in 6 families in North America, >1000/141/10 total
Order Dicellurata
Evalljapygidae: CA
Japygidae: transcontinental
Parajapygidae: AL, SC, CA
Order Rhabdura
Anajapygidae: CA
Campodeidae: transcontinental
Procampodeidae: CA
Size
2‒50 mm, but most commonly 7‒10 mm
Identification
1-segmented tarsi, chewing mouthparts that are concealed in a pouch, and 2 appendages called cerci at the tip of the abdomen. (1)
Soft-bodied, elongated, slender. Head large, antennae longer than head. Eyes and ocelli absent. Wingless. Legs short, slender. Abdomen long and slender.
Range
Cosmopolitan
Habitat
Under leaves, stones, bark, or logs on the ground(1). Secretive and nocturnal.
Food
They are part of the community of decomposers that help break down and recycle organic nutrients.
See Also
Zygentoma are thicker, have more exposed mouthparts, and 3- or 4-segmented tarsi(1)
Print References
(2)
https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/icad.12480
Works Cited
1.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
Contributed by John F. Carr on 15 March, 2009 - 7:20am
Additional contributions by v belov, antarctica
Last updated 24 April, 2024 - 11:10am

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