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A Microcoryphia (or should I write Archeognatha?) from Suriname. All help with ID appreciated.

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And a close up of the anterior part.

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Hello Auke,

There is no scale on the antenna, so i can confirm the family Meinertellidae (the only Microcoryphia family in South America).
There are only two genera in the north of South America: Meinertellus and Neomachilellus. (+2 others in Argentina and Chile & one more in Juan Fernandez island, Chile)
These two genus are very similar.

Meinertellus have pulvilli / scopulae (compact brush of short dark hairs under apex of last tarsal segment), Neomachilellus have not.
I believe that the lateral ocelli (under the compound eyes) are oval in Neomachilellus and "sole shaped" (constricted middle) in Meinertellus.
But we can't see pulvilli nor ocelli on this picture.

May be the habitus of the two genus are different.
But I have few picture to compare. There are pictures in a video here:
Bristletail Research by Dr. Yanoviak http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsNZtVfWUOk (at 55'' and 1' )
https://canopyants.net/research/gliding-arthropods/bristletail-videos/ (identified as Meinertellus on the web page. Picture: see 2nd video)
Yanoviak, S. P. ; Kaspari, Michael ; Dudley, Robert. 2009. Gliding hexapods and the origins of insect aerial behaviour. Biology Letters, 5: 510-512.
http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/4/510
Yanoviak has experimented mainly with Meinertellus, in Peru (table 1 in above article)
I believe the genus on the videos and your's is the same (white pattern on the thorax and abdomen). So, probably Meinertellus.

(See my WWW for biblio re Microcoryphia)
Regards,
Pascal

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Thank you for your extensive reply! Filed as Meinertellidae cf. Meinertellus. Next time, I hope to take some lateral and frontal pictures for a more secure ID.

Auke