Maindroniidae

Maindroniidae is a small family of silverfish, basal insects belonging to the order Zygentoma. It contains a single genus, Maindronia, and a handful of species.

Four species of these insects are found in deserts: in Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Atacama Desert on the west coast of Chile. The distribution of these closely related species suggests that Maindronia is a Gondwanan relict group. In 2020, a new species in this family, Maindronia bashagardensis, was discovered in Hormozgan province, Iran. There are no known existing specimen or illustrations of Maindronia mascatensis, and Maindroniidae has been suggested being divided into the two subfamilies Atacaminae, which only include Maindronia neotropicalis, and Maindroniinae, which includes the remaining species.