Archaeognatha

The Archaeognatha are an order of apterygotes, commonly known as bristletails. Among extant insect taxa they are some of the most evolutionarily primitive; they appeared in the Middle Devonian period at about the same time as the arachnids. Specimens that closely resemble extant species have been found as both body and trace fossils (the latter including body imprints and trackways) in strata from the remainder of the Paleozoic Era and more recent periods. For historical reasons an alternative name for the order is Microcoryphia.

The Machilidae, commonly known as jumping bristletails, are a family of insects belonging to the order Archaeognatha (the bristletails). There are around 450 described species worldwide. These insects are wingless, elongated and more or less cylindrical with a distinctive humped thorax and covered with tiny, close-fitting scales. The colour is usually grey or brown, sometimes intricately patterned. There are three "tails" at the rear of the abdomen: two cerci and a long central epiproct. They have large compound eyes, often meeting at a central point. They resemble the silverfish and the fireb

The Meinertellidae, commonly known as rock bristletails, is a small family of basally diverging insects belonging to the order Archaeognatha. These insects can be distinguished from members of the other Archaeognatha family, Machilidae, by the lack of scales at the base of the legs and antennae, head, and palps; along with possession of small abdominal sternites protruding slightly between the coxal plates. They can also be distinguished by patches of reddish to violet-brown hypodermal pigment on the appendages.

Petrobius is a genus of jumping bristletails in the family Machilidae. Many of these ancestral insects are restricted to rocky shorelines especially of northern Europe and America.

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Machiloides is a genus of rock bristletails in the family Meinertellidae. There are at least two described species in Machiloides. thumb|Machiloides banksi

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Mesomachilis is a genus of jumping bristletails in the family Machilidae. There are about six described species in Mesomachilis.

Meximachilis is a genus of jumping bristletails in the family Machilidae. There are at least three described species in Meximachilis.

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Machilis is a genus of jumping bristletails in the family Machilidae.

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Dilta is a genus of primitive insects belonging to the family Machilidae. These insects are slender and wingless with dull, often mottled, colouring. They are typically found on the ground in heavily vegetated places. Dilta spp are restricted to western Europe and parts of north Africa.