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Mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors in pycnogonids (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida)

2018; Oxford University Press; Volume: 38; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/jcbiol/ruy012

1937-240X

John A. Fornshell, Austin Patrick Harlow,

Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior

The presence of mechanoreceptors and chemosensory sensilla with the potential of detecting the movement of particles among pycnogonids (class Pycnogonida) was investigated using specimens of nine species representing six families from the collections of the United States National Museum of Natural History: Ammothea carolinensis Leach, 1814, A. glacialis (Hodgson, 1907), Callipallene cuspidata Stock, 1954, Endeis spinosa (Montagu, 1808), Nymphon australe Hodgson, 1902, Anoplodactylus petiolatus (Krøyer, 1844), Phoxichilidium femoratum (Rathke, 1799), Pycnogonum litorale (Strøm, 1762), and Pentapycnon charcoti Bouvier, 1910. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study mechanoreceptors on the surface of specimens. Mechanoreceptors with morphologies homologous to those involved in the detection of particle movement in insects and arachnids were found in all species except Pentapycnon charcoti. The number of sensilla in particle-movement mechanoreceptors varied from one to seven, with lengths of 3 µm to 100 µm. Experimental verification of the functions of these organs was not possible with preserved specimens, but based on experimental work with animals with homologous organs, detection of sound frequencies ranging from 10s of Hz to 1,000 Hz would be possible. Detection ranges are estimated to vary from 1 to about 100 m.