dipluran
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▪ insectalso called apteran , or entotrophianany of a group of about 800 species of small primitive wingless insects, considered by some entomologists to have features similar to ancestral insects. In some classification schemes, the order Diplura is considered to be in the subclass Apterygota of the class Insecta, while in others it is placed in its own subclass (Entognatha) of the superclass Hexapoda. Diplurans are blind, pale insects that live in soil and feed on decaying vegetation and plant tissues, occasionally damaging growing plants.The order is divided into three families. Typically the members of the family Campodeidae have two long, slender abdominal cerci (sensory appendages) that are sensitive to vibrations. They are commonly known as twintails. The cerci of the family Japygidae are modified into hard pincers that are used to catch prey. Members of the third family, the Projapygidae, also have cerci.
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Universalium. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
dipluran — noun Any of various hexapods, of the order Diplura … Wiktionary
dipluran — di·plu·ran … English syllables
dipluran — noun see diplura … Useful english dictionary
Diplura — For other uses, see Diplura (disambiguation). Diplurans Temporal range: Late Carboniferous–Recent … Wikipedia
apterygote — /ap ter i goht , ap teuhr /, adj. belonging or pertaining to the Apterygota, a subclass of primitive wingless insects that undergo little or no metamorphosis. Also, apterygotous /ap ter i goh teuhs/. [ < NL Apterygota name of the subclass, equiv … Universalium
insect — insectival /in sek tuy veuhl/, adj. /in sekt/, n. 1. any animal of the class Insecta, comprising small, air breathing arthropods having the body divided into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), and having three pairs of legs and usually two… … Universalium
