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Springtail
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<p>Springtails (class Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern <a href="/facts/Hexapoda/8KKV903Y">hexapods</a> that are no longer considered <a href="/facts/Insect/IgDNvnUL">insects</a>. Although the three lineages are sometimes grouped together in a class called <a href="/facts/Entognatha/jU1v9k5M">Entognatha</a> because they have internal <a href="/facts/Arthropod_mouthparts/apIMhDKx">mouthparts</a>, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts. </p><p>Springtails are <a href="/facts/Omnivorous/b8zcsuJF">omnivorous</a>, free-living organisms that prefer moist conditions. They do not directly engage in the decomposition of organic matter, but contribute to it indirectly through the fragmentation of organic matter and the control of soil microbial communities. The word <i>Collembola</i> is from Ancient Greek κόλλα <i>kólla</i> 'glue' and ἔμβολος <i>émbolos</i> 'peg'; this name was given due to the existence of the <a href="/facts/Collophore/vrR7Irbw">collophore</a>, which was previously thought to stick to surfaces to stabilize the creature. </p><p>Early <a href="/facts/DNA_sequence/hsPsNCQW">DNA sequence</a> studies suggested that Collembola represent a separate <a href="/facts/Lineage_(evolution)/wIChE4CL">evolutionary line</a> from the other <a href="/facts/Hexapoda/8KKV903Y">Hexapoda</a>, but others disagree; this seems to be caused by widely divergent patterns of <a href="/facts/Molecular_evolution/lmMbqfzH">molecular evolution</a> among the <a href="/facts/Arthropod/JKJLTFzp">arthropods</a>. The adjustments of traditional <a href="/facts/Taxonomic_rank/bPFQpe9A">taxonomic rank</a> for springtails reflect the occasional incompatibility of traditional groupings with modern <a href="/facts/Cladistics/JasKVABk">cladistics</a>: when they were included with the insects, they were ranked as an <a href="/facts/Order_(biology)/GKLJvIpt">order</a>; as part of the Entognatha, they are ranked as a <a href="/facts/Class_(biology)/a7MrgFu3">subclass</a>. If they are considered a <a href="/facts/Basal_(evolution)/JQPQXpYg">basal</a> lineage of Hexapoda, they are elevated to full <a href="/facts/Class_(biology)/a7MrgFu3">class</a> status. </p>