- Protura
-
Common names: proturans
Probability of encounter: medium
Quarantine importance: no known importance.
Similarity to mites: none, other than small size and lack of antennae. Unlike mites, proturans are clearly segmented.
Common names: proturans
Probability of encounter: medium
Quarantine importance: no known importance.
Similarity to mites: none, other than small size and lack of antennae. Unlike mites, proturans are clearly segmented.
Morphology
Normal adult length:
<2 mm
Body tagmata: head, thorax, abdomen (9-12 segments, styli on S1-3, cerci
absent)
Eyes: absent (pseudoculi present)
Antennae: absent
Mouthparts: entognathous, mandibles stylettiform, maxillary palps (3-seg.)
and labial palps (1-seg.) present.
Legs: 3 thoracic pairs (5 segments), legs I sensory, legs II-III ambulatory;
single claw + ventral empodium.
Comments:
Proturans lack antennae, but have antenniform front legs. Their abdomens are
long and composed of numerous segments (added developmentally). The first 3
segments have small styli, but no collophore or furcula is present. They
are common in soil and humus, especially in forest systems.
Diversity: ca. 500 species in 4-8 families
References
University of Florida (Entomology
& Nematology) – Protura
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/proturans.htm
North Carolina State University – Taxonomic Index of Resources – Protura
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/agnic/sys_entomology/taxon/protura/index.html
Tree of Life – Protura (first tail)
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Protura&contgroup=Hexapoda
Copeland, TP & Imadaté, G. 1990. Insecta: Protura. pp. 911-933,
in DL Dindal (ed) Soil Biology Guide. John Wiley & Sons: Brisbane.
Imadate, G. 1991. Protura. The Insects of Australia, Volume 1.
pp. 265-268. CSIRO: University of Melbourne Press.
Nosek, J. 1978. Key and diagnoses of proturan genera of the world. Annot.
Zool. Bot. Bratislava 122: 1-54.
Nosek, J. 1973. The European Protura: Their Taxonomy, Ecology and Distribution
with Keys for Determination. Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland.
345 pp.
Tuxen, SL. 1964. The Protura. A Revision of the Species of the World with
Keys for Determination. Hermann, Paris. 360 pp.
Yin, W.-Y. 1983. Grouping the known genera of Protura under eight families
with keys for determination. Contr. Shanghai Inst. Ent. 3:151-163.
Yin, W.-Y. 1984. A new phylogeny of Protura with approach to its origin and
systematic position. Scientia Sin. Ser. B 27:149-160.
