Fujientomidae

Definition

A family of proturans (order Protura) in the class Entognatha, established by Tuxen & Yin in 1982. The family is monogeneric, containing only the genus Fujientomon, which comprises two described species distributed in China and Japan. Proturans in this family, like all proturans, are minute, eyeless, wingless hexapods that inhabit soil and leaf litter, feeding on fungal hyphae and decaying organic matter. They are distinguished from other proturan families by characters of the mouthparts and abdominal segmentation.

Etymology

From Fujian (the Chinese province where the type species was discovered) + Greek entomon (insect) + -idae (family suffix).

Example

Specimens of Fujientomon dicestum, the type species of Fujientomidae, are collected by extracting soil cores and using Tullgren funnels to concentrate these minute hexapods from deep litter layers.

Related Terms

• Protura
• Entognatha
• Fujientomon
• Acerentomidae
• Eosentomidae
• proturan
• hexapod
• soil microarthropod

Usage Notes

Fujientomidae is one of several families in the order Protura, a group of non-insect hexapods once classified as insects but now placed in Entognatha alongside Collembola and Diplura. The family is rarely encountered in general entomological work due to the specialized techniques required for collecting and mounting these minute animals. Identification to family requires examination of mouthpart structure, number of abdominal segments, and presence or absence of tracheal systems—features visible only under high magnification.