a. and sb. Entom. [f. mod.L. Thysanūra Cuvier (f. Gr. θύσαν-ος tassel, fringe + οὐρά tail) + -AN.] a. adj. Belonging to the Thysanura, a wingless order of insects, comprising springtails, bristletails, etc., having filamentous appendages at the posterior end of the body. b. sb. An insect of this order. So Thysanurian a., Thysanurid a. and sb. = thysanuran; Thysanuriform, Thysanurimorphous adjs., having the form of, or resembling, the Thysanura; Thysanurous a., belonging to or having the characters of the Thysanura.
1835. Kirby, Hab. & Inst. Anim., II. xiv. 20. The *Thysanuran, or Sugar-louse tribe. Ibid., xx. 314. The Thysanurans are remarkable for their anal appendages.
1842. Brande, Dict. Sc., etc., Thysanurans, Thysanura,… in which the abdomen is terminated by filaments, or by a forked tail adapted for leaping.
1891. Cent. Dict., cites J. H. Comstock for *Thysanurian.
1900. Nature, 13 Dec., 161/2. The occurrence of Proiapyx stylifer, a primitive *thysanurid insect, in Liberia and Argentina.
1826. Kirby & Sp., Entomol., III. xxx. 166. Larvæ that approach to a true *Thysanuriform type.
1906. J. W. Folsom, Entomol., iii. 162. Two types of larvæ are recognized by Brauer, Packard and other authorities: thysanuriform and cruciform.
1860. Mayne, Expos. Lex., 1277/2. An Order … which have particular organs of motion on the sides of the extremity of the tail, like fringes: *thysanurous.
1910. Daily News, 30 May, 4/2. A ‘silver fish,’… Lepisma domestica, a thysanurous insect occurring in houses and damaging books, wall-papers, etc. Some of its other common names are bristle-tail, fish-tail, shiner, and silvertail.
