Entognath
Guides
Diplura
Two-pronged Bristletails
Diplura is an order of small, wingless, eyeless hexapods within the class Entognatha, characterized by a distinctive pair of caudal appendages (cerci) that give them their common name "two-pronged bristletails." The group comprises approximately 800 described species worldwide, ranging from 2 to 50 mm in length, with some species reaching up to 8 cm. They inhabit moist soil, leaf litter, humus, and caves across all continents except Antarctica. Diplurans possess concealed mouthparts (entognathous), long bead-like antennae, and the ability to autotomize their cerci when threatened.
Procampodeidae
Procampodeidae is a family of two-pronged bristletails in the order Diplura, class Entognatha. Members of this family are small, soil-dwelling hexapods with reduced or absent eyes and characteristic paired caudal appendages. The family was established by Silvestri in 1948 and belongs to the suborder Rhabdura. Procampodeidae represents one of several families within the campodeoid lineage of diplurans.
Protura
proturans, coneheads
Protura are minute soil-dwelling hexapods, 0.6–1.5 mm in length, distinguished by their lack of eyes, wings, and antennae. They were first discovered in 1907 and were previously regarded as insects but are now classified as an order within the class Entognatha. Unique among hexapods, proturans exhibit anamorphic development, adding abdominal segments post-embryonically through successive molts until reaching the adult complement of 12 segments. Approximately 800 species have been described across seven families, with nearly 300 species in the single genus Eosentomon.