The
Archaeognatha are an
order of wingless
insects, also known as
jumping bristletails. They are among the least evolutionarily changed insects, appearing in the Middle
Devonian period along with the
arachnids. They are known from both body and
trace fossils (the latter including body imprints and trackways) throughout the remainder of the
Paleozoic Era. The name Archaeognatha is derived from
Greek,
archaeos meaning "ancient" and
gnatha meaning "
jaw". This refers to the articulation of the mandibles, which has a single
condyle, where all higher insects have two. An alternate name,
Microcoryphia, comes from the Greek
micro, meaning "small", and
coryphia, meaning head.