Ctenolepisma longicaudatum
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Ctenolepisma longicaudatum, generally known as the gray silverfish, long-tailed silverfish or paper silverfish, is a species of Zygentoma in the family Lepismatidae. It was described by the German entomologist Karl Leopold Escherich in 1905 based on specimens collected in South Africa, but is found worldwide as synanthrope in human housings.
In recent years, gray silverfish have increasingly become an issue in indoor environments in Europe, especially in newly built houses with a stable climate beneficial for the growth and reproduction of this species. As a food generalist with the ability to digest the cellulose contained in paper and cellulose-based textiles like rayon, Ctenolepisma longicaudatum is considered a pest species in cultural heritage institutions like libraries and archives.
Most authors have historically treated the nomenclatural gender of Ctenolepisma as feminine, but in 2018 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature issued a formal ruling (ICZN Opinion 2427) stating the gender of Lepisma (and all genera with that ending) is neuter, following ICZN Article 30, which resulted in changes to the spelling of several well-known species, including... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 5 | Jerusalem | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 8 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Valencia | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Long-Tailed Silverfish sighting in London on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 931st most-seen of the 1504 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Long-Tailed Silverfish in London on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-Tailed Silverfish sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
38th of 48
Of the 48 cities where we can rate Long-Tailed Silverfish sightings, London ranks 38th at under 5%. The best odds are in Quito (Ecuador, about 20%), Essen (Germany, about 10%) and Tijuana (México, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Long-Tailed Silverfish is recorded against all the insects logged in London (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
