Lepismatidae is a family of primitive wingless

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 with about 190 described species. This family contains the two most familiar members of the order

Zygentoma Zygentoma are an order in the class Insecta, and consist of about 550 known species. The Zygentoma include the so-called silverfish or fishmoths, and the firebrats. A conspicuous feature of the order are the three long caudal filaments. The t ...

: the

silverfish The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance ...

(''Lepisma saccharinum'') and the

firebrat The firebrat (''Thermobia domestica'') is a small hexapod (typically 1–1.5 cm), in the order Zygentoma. Habitat Firebrats prefer higher temperatures and require some humidity, and can be found in bakeries and near boilers or f ...

(''Thermobia domestica''). It is one of five families in the order Zygentoma. Lepismatids are elongated, flattened insects, the majority of which are

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...

s. The

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is usually clothed in tiny

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

and terminates with three "tails" of roughly equal length. The

compound eye A compound eye is a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells which disti ...

s are small and well separated. They typically live in warm, damp environments, including indoors. They avoid light.

Parasites

Member of

Strepsiptera The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites in other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most species never ...

family Mengenillinidae exclusively parasitise members of Lepismatidae. Host-species relationships include: ''Eoxenos laboulbenei'' on '' Tricholepisma aureum'', '' Neoasterolepisma wasmanni'' and ''N. palmonii''; ''Mengenilla parvula'' on ''

Sceletolepisma michaelseni ''Sceletolepisma michaelseni'' is a species of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae Lepismatidae is a family of primitive wingless insects with about 190 described species. This family contains the two most familiar members of the order Zygen ...

''; ''Mengenilla nigritula'' on ''

Ctenolepisma ciliatum ''Ctenolepisma ciliatum'' is a species of primitive insect of the order Zygentoma. Described from Spain, it is a common species in subarid habitats of the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surroun ...

'' and ''Ctenolepisma'' sp.; ''Mengenilla laevigata'', ''M. quasita'', ''M. spinulosa'' and ''M. subnigrescens'' on ''C. lineatum''; and an unidentified species of Strepsiptera on ''Mormisma peyerimhoffi''. Parasitic

Apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. T ...

are often found in the intestinal tract, especially the crop, of Lepismatidae. ''

Ctenolepisma lineatum ''Ctenolepisma lineatum'' is a species of insect of the order Zygentoma. It is generally similar to the closely related silverfish but can be distinguished by being rather stouter and less shiny with all appendages ( antennae and 3 "tails") not ...

'' contains on average 15 parasite specimens per animal. Several species of

gregarine The gregarines are a group of Apicomplexan alveolates, classified as the Gregarinasina or Gregarinia. The large (roughly half a millimeter) parasites inhabit the intestines of many invertebrates. They are not found in any vertebrates. However, gr ...

parasites have been recorded from the intestinal tract of the gray silverfish:

Genera

These genera belong to the family Lepismatidae: * ''

Acrotelsa ''Acrotelsa'' is a genus of silverfish in the family Lepismatidae Lepismatidae is a family of primitive wingless insects with about 190 described species. This family contains the two most familiar members of the order Zygentoma: the silverfis ...

'' Escherich, 1905 * '' Acrotelsella'' Silvestri, 1935 * '' Afrolepisma'' Mendes, 1981 * '' Allacrotelsa'' Silvestri, 1935 * '' Anallacrotelsa'' Mendes, 1996 * '' Anisolepisma'' Paclt, 1967 * '' Apteryskenoma'' Paclt, 1952 * '' Asiolepisma'' Kaplin, 1989 * ''

Ctenolepisma ''Ctenolepisma'' is a genus of primitive insects in the order Zygentoma, closely related to the silverfish and firebrat but less reliant on human habitation, some species being found both indoors and outdoors and some found exclusively outdoors ...

'' Escherich, 1905 * '' Desertinoma'' Kaplin, 1992 * '' Gopsilepisma'' Irish, 1990 * '' Hemikulina'' Mendes, 2008 * '' Hemilepisma'' Paclt, 1967 * '' Heterolepisma'' Escherich * '' Hyperlepisma'' Silvestri, 1932 * '' Lepisma'' Linnaeus, 1758 * '' Lepismina'' Gervais, 1844 * '' Lepitrochisma'' Mendes, 1988 * '' Leucolepisma'' Wall, 1954 * '' Mirolepisma'' Silvestri, 1938 * '' Monachina'' Silvestri, 1908 * '' Mormisma'' Silvestri, 1938 * '' Namibmormisma'' Irish, 1989 * '' Namunukulina'' Wygodzinsky, 1957 * '' Nebkhalepisma'' Irish, 1989 * '' Neoasterolepisma'' Mendes, 1988 * '' Ornatilepisma'' Irish, 1989 * '' Panlepisma'' Silvestri, 1940 * '' Primacrotelsa'' Mendes, 2004 * '' Prolepismina'' Silvestri, 1940 * '' Psammolepisma'' Irish, 1989 * '' Sabulepisma'' Irish, 1989 * '' Sceletolepisma'' Wygodzinsky, 1955 * '' Silvestrella'' Escherich, 1905 * '' Stylifera'' Stach, 1932 * '' Swalepisma'' Irish, 1989 * '' Thermobia'' Bergroth, 1890 * '' Tricholepisma'' Paclt, 1967 * '' Xenolepisma'' Mendes, 1981 * † '' Burmalepisma'' Mendes & Poinar, 2008

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

, Myanmar,

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

* † '' Cretalepisma'' Mendes & Wunderlich, 2013 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian * † '' Onycholepisma'' Pierce, 1951 * † '' Paracrotelsa'' Paclt, 1967 * † '' Protolepisma'' Mendes & Poinar, 2013

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree '' Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil inc ...

, Miocene

References

* McGavin, George C. ''Insects and Spiders'' 2004
Fauna Europaea
Insect families Extant Aptian first appearances {{Thysanura-stub