Immunochemical study of oniscoidea hemocyanins (crustacea,terrestrial isopods)

• 1.1. The hemocyanins from six Oniscoidea species are compared by agar immunodiffusion and by quantitative immunoprecipitation.
• 2.2. The hemocyanins of the investigated species give an immunoprecipitation reaction whatever antihemocyanin antiserum was used.
• 3.3. The antigenic structure of the Oniscoidea hemocyanins is based on the presence of five or six antigenic determinants; the number of common determinants between the hemocyanins increases with the systematic proximity of the species.
• 4.4. A model of a phylogenetic species separation is proposed from the antigenic distances between the hemocyanins found by quantitative immunoprecipitation.