The ultrastructure of the so-called olfactory setae on the antennula ofDaphnia magna Straus (Crustacea,Cladocera)

A group of nine sensory setae is found on the tip of the antennula ofDaphnia magna in both sexes. Inside a seta four dendrites are situated, each with one receptor cilium. The receptor cilia extend through a liquor space into the exterior part of the seta. The exterior part of the liquor space is divided from the interior part by a knob-like thickening of the innermost layer of the epicuticle, the basal bead. The basal bead narrows the liquor space and the receptor cilia. The interior part of the liquor space is surrounded by five sheath cells, the exterior part by a thin cuticle. In the exterior part the receptor cilia branch partly and reach a terminal pellet on the tip of the seta. The terminal pellet is a thickened part of the epicuticle. It is permeable to several dissolved substances. It is the exterior part of the receptor that projects over the tip of the antennula and seems to be the entire seta. During the premoult the fifth sheath cell builds up the articulation of the seta, the fourth the basal bead, and the third the shaft of the seta. The first sheath cell forms the cuticular sheath. The organ seems to be a chemoreceptor, but the adequate stimulus is as yet unknown.     

The contribution of setal blades to effective swimming in the aquatic mite Limnochares americana (Acari: Prostigmata: Limnocharidae)

Two rows (anterior and posterior) of long fine setae inserted on the 3rd, 4th and 5th segments of the last two pairs of legs of L. americana form functional swimming blades. Each swimming setal is mounted in a mobile basal socket, and the structure of the setal base and socket configuration ensure that the blades will be passively erected during the leg's power stroke to provide increased thrust and collapsed during the recovery stroke to reduce water resistance. The erect swimming blades increase the effective area for thrust by approximately 500%, making it possible for the mite to lift itself off the bottom. The IVth legs contribute the greater proportion of the thrust developed during paddling, and the 4th segment (genu) bears the largest swimming blades on both legs.     

Review of the Palaearctic Acomopterella Zaitzev (Diptera,Sciaroidea, Mycetophilidae)

The distribution of Acomopterella species in the Palaearctic region has been re-examined in this study, using recently collected material. The European species was found to be distributed in the eastern Palaearctic as well. A second Palaearctic species from Honshu (Japan) is herein described. The morphology of adult specimens was studied by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The shape of functional specialized setae on mid tibiae in Acomopterella and seven further fungus gnat genera is described and the suitability of this character for systematic studies is discussed. Details of a “hind tibial organ” are described.The position of Acomopterella in the tribe Gnoristini is briefly discussed. Acomopterella is found to be more closely related to Speolepta Edwards, 1925, than to any other recent genus.     

Ontogenetic scaling of scansorial surface area and setal dimensions of Chondrodactylus bibronii (Gekkota: Gekkonidae): testing predictions derived from cross‐species comparisons of gekkotans

Little is known of how the adhesive apparatus of gekkotans scales with growth. Cross‐species comparisons of certain characteristics, using size as a comparator to investigate scaling relationships, suggest certain relationships between subdigital pad area and body size. The manner in which the adhesive apparatus grows and scales within any one species, however, remains unknown, and it is unclear whether interspecific and intraspecific patterns are similar. To address this, we examined a post‐hatching ontogenetic series of the southern African gecko Chondrodactylus bibronii and demonstrate that setal density, setal basal diameter and setal spacing remain relatively constant in relation to size, indicating conserved subdigital pad assembly rules that are independent of size. Conversely, however, average and maximal setal lengths increase slightly and isometrically with size, an outcome that is probably explained by setal row recruitment, and the surface area of the subdigital pads scales close to, but below, isometry with respect to body mass and snout–vent length, it therefore does not increase sufficiently with size to compensate for the increase in mass. As a result, relative adhesive capacity decreases with growth with a regression slope of –0.45.     

The scales of salticid spiders

The form and location of the scales of salticid spiders, as revealed by light and scanning electron microscopy, provide useful diagnostic characters for the separation of species, the assignment of species to genera, and a further understanding of the relationships between salticid genera. Partly on the basis of distinctions provided by scale structure, the new genus Platycryptus , type-species Aranea undata De Geer, 1778, is defined. Metaphidippus vitis Cockerell, 1894, is placed in the genus Sassacus Peckham, 1895, and Paromaevia michelsoni (Barnes), 1955, is returned to the genus Maevia . The placement of Eris, Hentzia, Icius, Metaphidippus, Phidippus , and Sassacus in the subfamily Dendryphantinae is substantiated; Tutelina and Zygoballus are added to this group. On the basis of common scale structure, Evarcha, Habrocestum, Menememerus, Phlegra, Platycryptus , and Sitticus are tentatively assigned to the subfamily Habrocestinae. Scales of Anasntis, Corythalia, Cosmophasis, Hyllus, Marpissa, Metacyrba, Pellenes, Plexippus, Salticus, Sarinda, and Thiodina are also described.     

Water Striders:The Biomechanics of Water Locomotion and Functional Morphology of the Hydrophobic Surface(Insecta:Hemiptera-Heteroptera)

Water striders are insects living on the water surface, over which they can move very quickly and rarely get wetted. We measured the force of free walking in water striders, using a hair attached to their backs and a 3D strain gauge. The error was calculated by comparing force and data derived from geometry and was estimated as 13%. Females on average were stronger (1.32 mN) than males (0.87 mN), however, the ratio of force to weight was not significantly different. Compared with other lighter species, Aquarius paludum seems stronger, but the ratio of force to weight is actually lower. A. paludum applies about 0.3 mN·cm-1 to 0.4 mN·cm-1 with its mid-legs, thus avoiding penetrating the surface tension layer while propelling itself rapidly over the water surface.We also investigated the external morphology with SEM. The body is covered by effectively two layers of macro-and micro-hairs, which renders them hydrophobic. The setae are long (40 um-60 um) and stiff, being responsible for waterproofing, and the microtrichia are much smaller (<10 um), slender, and flexible, holding a bubble over the body when submerged.     

Observations on Some Species of Chaetoceros (Bacillariophyceae) with Reduced Number of Setae from a Tropical Coastal Lagoon

Species of Chaetoceros with less than four setae per cell are not common. In this study, five different taxa presenting this characteristic were found in the Sontecomapan lagoon, Mexico, a small tropical coastal lagoon on the Gulf of Mexico:Chaetoceros minimus, C. subtilis var. abnormis f. abnormis, C. subtilis var. abnormis f. simplex, C. throndsenii var. throndsenia, and C. thondsenii var. trisetosa. Using an electron microscope to make observations of C. subtilis var. abnormis f. simplex made evident the absence of rimoportulae suggesting a close relationship to C. minimus. According to our observations, we believe that the reduction in the number of setae in Chaetoceros is related to solitary forms. The five species studied here are associated with quiet brackish-water enclosed environments and can be considered worldwide-distributed organisms.     

Shell structure, ontogeny and affinities of the Lower Cambrian bivalved problematic fossil Mickwitzia muralensis Walcott, 1913

Exceptionally preserved carbonate- and shale-hosted Mickwitzia muralensis from the Lower Cambrian Mural Formation, southern Canadian Rocky Mountains, complement one another to yield an unusually complete account of its ontogeny, ecology and phylogenetic relationships. The shell of M. muralensis is composed of dense phosphatic layers interspersed with porous organic-rich layers. At the insertion of shell-penetrating tubes, shell layers deflect inwards to produce inwardly pointing cones. The tubes are interpreted as having hosted setae that were secreted by outer-epithelial follicles. Follicular setae also occurred at the mantle margin, where they were oriented within the plane of the shell as in modern brachiopods. During ontogeny, the initial setae oriented in the plane of the shell occurred before the first shell-penetrative setae. In the juvenile and early-mature stages of shell secretion, a posterior opening was present between both valves and was used for the protrusion of an attachment structure. In the late-mature shell, this opening became fixed in the ventral valve. Based on the posterior margin and the shell microstructure, a close relationship between Mickwitzia and the paterinids is proposed with differences interpreted as heterochronic. The shell-penetrative setal apparatus of M. muralensis is distinct from that previously described of Micrina, though both types are conceivably homologous to adult and juvenile setae of modern brachiopods.     

Seasonal dynamics of Callibaetis willineri (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) associated with Eichhornia azurea (Pontedericeae) in Guaraná Lake of the Upper Paraná River, Brazil

The micro-anatomy of the cephalon is described in the troglobic asellotan isopod Craseriella anops from the Nohoch Nah Chich anchialine cave system in southeast Mexico. The cephalon is entirely covered by cuticular scales bordered by marginal spines. The anterior end of the cephalon is bordered by a carina that is wider medially. The isopod is eyeless. The distal seventh portion of the cephalon is characterized by the presence of two sutures and six setae. A suture is found on each side of the distal margin of the cephalon.Each suture is bordered by microtrichs. Two simple setae with a sensory hair, articulated on the base by a socket, are found one on each side of each of the sutures. Two additional setae, similar in shape and size, occur medially on the cephalon. A terminal pore is absent on the sensory hairs of all setae. These setae are suggested to be mechanoreceptors that provide directional sensitivity and enhance the sensibility of turbulent motion, viscosity and changes of hydrostatic pressure.