a Class and Order of minute insects, chiefly categorised by entognathous mouthparts (i.e. mouthparts recessed within the head), lack of antennae and compound eyes. Protura is sometimes considered a primitive Order of Insecta.

minute wingless arthropods: telsontails

The Protura, or proturans, are an order of hexapods previously treated as insects, and sometimes treated as a class . They are very small (<2 mm long) soil-dwelling animals and are unique among arthropods for showing anamorphic development, whereby body segments are added during moults . A total of around 500 species have been described worldwide, in four to eight families , making Protura the smallest class in the phylum Arthropoda .