This order of wingless insects consists of about 350 known species. They hide under bark, in litter, and in rock crevices, and feed on algae, lichens, and vegetable debris.

  Oldest fossil considered as Archaeognatha is from the Devonian (390 million years old) from Gaspé, Québec (Labandeira et al., 1988). However, there is little evidence that this fossil is a member of Archaeognatha; it may instead be a member of the stem-group of insects or of stem-Dicondylia.   

Recent archaeognathans share two notable derived features:  

 
• Compound eyes enlarged, medially contiguous 

     

• Specialized musculature of abdomen, which allows them to jump by a rapid downward bending 

  Archaeognathans also share a number of primitive features. Their mandibles are monocondylic, that is, with only one condyle (the joint or socket-like attachement point to the head capsule), whereas other insects have two condyles ("dicondylic"). This primitive mouthpart feature gives the order its name (Arche - beginning, gnathos - jaw).

   Their abdominal segments bear styles, which are small appendages moveable by muscles. They can be seen underneath the abdomen in the following picture:

 Styli may be remnants of ancestral limbs. 

Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Archaeognatha

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
                                                             

Specimen Records:	102
Specimens with Sequences:	78
Specimens with Barcodes:	78
Public Records:	14
Species:	4
Species With Barcodes:	4

Download FASTA File