Symphypleona

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Dark.round.springtail.1.jpg

| image_caption = Allacma fusca from forest near Cologne, Germany

| taxon = Symphypleona

| authority =

| subdivision_ranks = Superfamilies

| subdivision =

| synonyms = Neopleona

}}

The order Symphypleona, also known as the globular springtails, is one of the three main groups of springtails (Collembola), tiny hexapods related to insects. When the springtails were still believed to be an order of insects, the Symphypleona were ranked as a suborder.

They can be best distinguished from the other springtail groups by their body shape. The Symphypleona are very round animals, almost spherical, and usually have long antennae. The Poduromorpha, by contrast, always have short legs and a plump body, but more oval in shape than the Symphypleona. The Entomobryomorpha are the slimmest springtails, some with long and some with short legs and antennae, but always with a very slender body.

Systematics

The Symphypleona order was previously suggested to also contain family Neelidae, as a very apomorphic relative in the Sminthuridae superfamily.{{Citation needed|reason=This was cited as See references in Haaramo (2008); I could not find the study or find any alternative source for this information|date=July 2020}} Phylogenetic studies however suggest Neelidae to be the only family of Neelipleona order.Gao, Yan; Bu, Yun & Luan, Yun-Xia (2008): Phylogenetic Relationships of Basal Hexapods Reconstructed from Nearly Complete 18S and 28S rRNA Gene Sequences. Zool. Sci. 25(11): 1139-1145. {{doi|10.2108/zsj.25.1139}} {{PMID|19267625}} (HTML abstract){{cite journal|last1=Xiong|first1=Y|last2=Gao|first2=Y|last3=Yin|first3=W|last4=Luan|first4=Y|title=Molecular phylogeny of Collembola inferred from ribosomal RNA genes|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=49|issue=3|year=2008|pages=728–735|issn=1055-7903|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2008.09.007|pmid=18835455|bibcode=2008MolPE..49..728X}}{{cite journal|last1=Leo|first1=Chiara|last2=Carapelli|first2=Antonio|last3=Cicconardi|first3=Francesco|last4=Frati|first4=Francesco|last5=Nardi|first5=Francesco|title=Mitochondrial Genome Diversity in Collembola: Phylogeny, Dating and Gene Order|journal=Diversity|volume=11|issue=9|year=2019|pages=169|issn=1424-2818|doi=10.3390/d11090169|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019Diver..11..169L |hdl=11365/1079696|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Sun|first1=Xin|last2=Ding|first2=Yinhuan|last3=Orr|first3=Michael C.|last4=Zhang|first4=Feng|title=Streamlining universal single-copy orthologue and ultraconserved element design: A case study in Collembola|journal=Molecular Ecology Resources|volume=20|issue=3|year=2020|pages=706–717 |issn=1755-098X|doi=10.1111/1755-0998.13146}}