Mountain Stone Bristletail vs Common Jumping Bristletail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mountain Stone Bristletail Common Jumping Bristletail
Scientific Name Machilis germanica Petrobius maritimus
Order Archaeognatha Archaeognatha
Family Machilidae Machilidae
Size 8-12 mm 10-13 mm
Habitat Mountains Beaches & Coastal
Diet Detritivores Omnivores
Regions Central Europe Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mountain Stone Bristletail

A scaled, humped bristletail found on rock faces and stone walls in European mountains. It has large touching compound eyes, long antennae, and three caudal filaments.

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Did You Know?

Bristletails have an indirect mating system where males deposit sperm droplets on silk threads for females to pick up.

Common Jumping Bristletail

A coastal bristletail found on rocky shores throughout Europe. It has a distinctive arched body shape and large compound eyes.

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Did You Know?

It can jump up to 30 centimeters by flexing its abdomen against the ground.