Maindroniidae

Maindroniidae is a very small family of silverfish, basal insects belonging to the order Zygentoma.

The distribution of these closely related species suggests that Maindronia is a Gondwanan relict group.

[1] A new species in this family was recently discovered in Hormozgan province, Iran.

[2] Maindronia currently comprises four described species:[2] Recent findings from a phylogenetic study using the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and the 18S genes showed that Maindronia neotropicalis, inhabiting the Chilean Atacama desert, is in fact an assemblage of five genetic lineages that diverged from a common ancestor around 15 million years ago.

All of these five lineages are likely well-separated species, and they await formal description.