What is Silverfish?
{{Taxobox | name = ''Lepisma saccharina'' | image = Silberfischchen.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropoda]] | classis = [[Insecta]] | ordo = '''Thysanura''' | familia = '''Lepismatidae''' | genus = '''''Lepisma''''' | species = '''''L. saccharina''''' | binomial = ''Lepisma saccharina'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758 }} '''''Lepisma saccharina''''' (commonly called the '''fishmoth''', '''urban silverfish''' or just the '''silverfish''') is a small, wingless [[insect]]. Typically it is between half an inch and one [[inch]] (12–25&nbsp;[[millimetre|mm]]). Its [[common name]] comes from the animal's silvery blue color, combined with the [[fish]]-like appearance of its movements. The [[scientific name]] indicates the silverfish's diet of [[carbohydrate]]s such as [[sugar]] or [[starch]]es. It belongs to the [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] insect [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Thysanura]], and the [[species]] is estimated to have existed for over 300 million years, originating in the [[Paleozoic Era]].<ref>[http://entomology.uark.edu/museum/silfsh.html University of Arkansas: Arthropod Museum Notes 2005]</ref> Often misidentified as a silverfish is the [[house centipede]], another house-dwelling arthropod that exhibits rapid, fluid movement. An eyeless species of silverfish, or a close relative, was discovered in January 2006 in caves in [[Sequoia National Park]], [[California]]. == References == {{reflist}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Insects]]