Zygentoma

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Zygentoma
Temporal range: Aptian–Recent
The firebrat (Thermobia domestica) (Lepismatidae) typical of the order Zygentoma
Atelura formicaria (Nicoletiidae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
(unranked): Dicondylia
Order: Zygentoma
Börner, 1904
Families

Zygentoma are 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.[2]

Until the late twentieth century the Zygentoma were regarded as a suborder of the Thysanura,[3] until it was recognized that the order Thysanura was paraphyletic, thus raising the two suborders to the status of independent monophyletic orders, with Archaeognatha as sister group to the Dicondylia, including the Zygentoma.[4][5][page needed]

Lateral aspect of a silverfish typical of the Zygentoma

Etymology

The name "Zygentoma" is derived from the

Insecta
was in its infancy in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the name was firmly established by the time that more sophisticated views were developed.

Description and ecology

Silverfish are so-called because of the silvery glitter of the

extant species have a body length less than 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long, though Carboniferous fossils about 6 cm long are known.[5]

Zygentoma have

epiproct.[14]

Silverfish may be found in moist, humid environments or dry conditions, both as free-living organisms or nest-associates.[15] In domestic settings, they feed on cereals, paste, paper, starch in clothes, rayon fabrics and dried meats.[16] In nature, they will feed on organic detritus.[17] Silverfish can sometimes be found in bathtubs or sinks at night, because they have difficulty moving on smooth surfaces and so become trapped if they fall in.

Wild species often are found in dark, moist habitats such as caves or under rocks, and some are

commensals living in association with ant colonies, e.g., Trichatelura manni[18] and Allotrichotriura saevissima,[15] which lives inside nests of fire ants in Brazil
.

There are no current species formally considered to be at conservation risk, though several are

troglobites
limited to one or a few caves or cave systems, and these species run an exceptionally high risk of extinction.

Aggregation behaviour

In the past, a contact

Lepisma saccharinum.[22]

Furthermore, direct current-powered low-level electromagnetic coils with static electromagnetic fields were found to induce attraction or arrestment behaviour in Lepisma saccharinum and Thermobia domestica.[23] This behavioural trait has potential application in traps for Zygentoma, and a respective patent has been issued.[24]

Taxonomy

The

Tricholepidiidae are represented by Tricholepidion gertschi
from forests of northern California.

The Lepidotrichidae are represented by the extinct Lepidotrix pilifera, known from Baltic amber.

The Lepismatidae is the largest family and they include the physically largest specimens. The family is cosmopolitan with more than 200 species. Many are anthropophilic, living in human habitations. Some species are inquilines in ant colonies.

The Nicoletiidae tend to be smaller, pale in colour, and often live in soil litter, humus, under stones, in caves (with reduced eyes) or as inquilines in ant or termite colonies. The family is subdivided into five subfamilies.[26]

The Maindroniidae comprise three species, found in the Middle East and in Chile.

The Protrinemuridae comprise four genera.[27] Like Nicoletiidae species living in caves, they lack eyes.[28]

Some molecular phylogenies have found Tricholepidiidae to form an independent, more basal branch of insects unrelated to other zygentomans.[29]

Evolutionary history

The fossil record for Zygentoma is poor, though they must have diverged from all other insects either during the

Santana Formation of Brazil, dating to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous around 113 million years ago, with other specimens of Lepismatidae known from the Burmese amber of Myanmar, dating to around 100 million years ago.[30][31] Fossils of Nicoletiidae are known from Miocene aged Dominican amber.[31]

Reproduction

Silverfish have an elaborate courtship ritual to ensure the transfer of sperm. The male spins a silken thread between the substrate and a vertical object. He deposits a sperm packet (spermatophore) beneath this thread and then coaxes a female to walk under the thread. When her cerci contact the silk thread, she picks up the spermatophore with her genital opening. Sperm are released into her reproductive system, after which she ejects the empty spermatophore and eats it.

As ametabolous insects, silverfish continue to moult throughout their lives, with several sexually mature instars, unlike the pterygote insects. They are relatively slow growing, and lifespans of four to up to eight years have been recorded.[14][32]

Research for biofuel production

Since silverfish consume

termites, wood-feeding roaches, wood wasps, and others) currently being researched for use in the production of biofuel. The guts of these insects act as natural bioreactors in which chemical processes break down cellulose. They have been studied in the hope of developing commercially cost-effective biofuel production processes.[33]

References

  1. ^ Elven, H; Aarvik, Leif (2018). "Børstehaler Zygentoma". Artsdatabanken (in Norwegian). Naturhistorisk museum, University of Oslo. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  2. ISBN 978-0-12-404692-4
    . Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  3. ISBN 0-412-61390-5
    .
  4. PMID 24625269
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-118-84615-5
    .
  6. ^ Liddell, H. G. (1889). An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon: Based on the 7th Ed of Liddell & Scott's Lexicon. page 488
  7. ^ Börner, Carl Julius Bernhard (1904). "Zur Systematik der Hexapoden". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 27: 511–533.
  8. ^ The first report of the family Protrinemuridae and Neoasterolepisma priesneri (Stach, 1946) (Insecta: Zygentoma) for Iran
  9. ^ Entomology
  10. ^ Multicellular Animals: Volume II: The Phylogenetic System of the Metazoa
  11. ^ The Insects: Structure and Function
  12. ^ The Australian silverfish fauna (Order Zygentoma) – abundant, diverse, ancient and largely ignored
  13. ^ The genus Mormisma Silvestri (Thysanura: Lepismatidae) in the Namib desert
  14. ^
    ISBN 0-19-510033-6
    .
  15. ^
    ISSN 1807-0205
    .
  16. ^ Silverfish
  17. ^ "Thysanura - Silverfishes, Firebrats, Common bristletails, Zygentoma, Silverfish". Discover Life. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  18. doi:10.1093/aesa/62.6.1367
    .
  19. S2CID 10137980
    .
  20. S2CID 83503591
    .
  21. PMID 24331598
    .
  22. S2CID 87068303
    .
  23. S2CID 84192707
    .
  24. ^ Wijenberg, Rosanna; Hayden, Michael E.; Takács, Stephen; Gries, Gerhard (2006-11-06). US Patent Application for Application #20070107297: Use of electromagnetic fields to affect insect movement (Report).
  25. The Paleobiology Database
    . Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  26. ISSN 1807-0205
    .
  27. doi:10.1080/00379271.2002.10697352
    .
  28. S2CID 83576335
    .
  29. PMID 33365760
    .
  30. ISSN 1164-5563
    .
  31. ^ a b J .F. Mendes, J. Wunderlich New data on thysanurans preserved in Burmese amber (Microcoryphia and Zygentoma Insecta) Soil Org., 85 (2013), pp. 11-22
  32. ^ Lindsay, Eder (1940). "The biology of the silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudata Esch. with particular reference to its feeding habits". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. New Series. 40: 35–83.
  33. S2CID 53073329
    .

Further reading

External links

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