:''Entomobryoidea is also the old name of

Entomobryomorpha The Entomobryomorpha are one of the three main groups ( order) of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. This group was formerly treated as a superfamily, the Entomobryoidea. They can be best distinguished from the other ...

, when these were placed in the "Arthropleona" The Entomobryoidea are a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

springtail Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Ento ...

s (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s. In the modern sense, this group is placed in an order called

. This superfamily contains very characteristic

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of springtails. They typically possess long legs and

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

e, as well as a well-developed

furcula The (Latin for "little fork") or wishbone is a forked bone found in most birds and some species of non-avian dinosaurs, and is formed by the fusion of the two pink clavicles. In birds, its primary function is in the strengthening of the thoracic ...

Systematics

The Entomobryoidea in the old sense – now

– were united with the Poduroidea (now

Poduromorpha The order Poduromorpha is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. This group was formerly treated as a superfamily Poduroidea. They can be best distinguished from the other springtail groups ...

) in a group called "Arthropleona", but this has more recently turned out to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

. Actually the Entomobryomorpha, the Poduromorpha, and the third springtaill lineage – the

Symphypleona The order Symphypleona is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. When the springtails were still believed to be an order of insects, the Symphypleona were ranked as a suborder. They can be ...

– are equally distinct from each other. Their treatment at equal

taxonomic rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family (biology), family, order (biology), order, class (b ...

reflects this. Following a 2008 review of the Entomobryomorpha,Soto-Adames ''et al.'' (2008) the Cyphoderidae are demoted to a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

of the Paronellidae. Apart from the three living

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

, there are also two extinct ones known only from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s. * Family Paronellidae - includes Cyphoderidae * Family

Entomobryidae Entomobryidae, sometimes called "slender springtails", is a family of springtails characterised by having an enlarged fourth abdominal segmentation (biology), segment and a well-developed furcula (Collembola), furcula. Species in this family ma ...

* Family Microfalculidae * Family

Oncobryidae Oncobryidae is a family of extinct springtails in the order Collembola Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Altho ...

(fossil) * Family Praentomobryidae (fossil)

Footnotes

References

* Soto-Adames, Felipe N.; Barra, Jean-Auguste; Christiansen, Kenneth & Jordana, Rafael (2008): Suprageneric Classification of Collembola Entomobryomorpha. ''Annals of the Entomological Society of America'' 101(3): 501–513. DOI:10.1603/0013-8746(2008)101 01:SCOCE.0.CO;2HTML abstract
Entomobryomorpha Arthropod superfamilies {{springtail-stub