page_title: Silverfish
section_title: Similar species
hierarchical_section_title: Silverfish / Similar species
caption_attribution_description: English: Ctenolepisma sp. with visable silver scales on its back; possibly C. longicaudata but impossible to say without location
context_page_description: A silverfish is a small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma. Its common name derives from the animal's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. The scientific name indicates that the silverfish's diet consists of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches.
context_section_description: Other similar insect species are also known as silverfish. Two other silverfish are common in North America, Ctenolepisma longicaudata and Ctenolepisma quadriseriata. Ctenolepisma urbana is known as the urban silverfish. 
  The Australian species most commonly referred to as silverfish is a different lepismatid, Acrotelsella devriesiana. The firebrat (Thermobia domestica) is like a silverfish, but with a mottled gray and brown body.
caption: Ctenolepisma species
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