Beauty under the mud: Soil crypsis in new species of the Malagasy genus Ankaratrix (Opiliones: Triaenonychidae: Triaenobuninae)

Porto, Willians; Pérez‐González, Abel

doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2020.06.001

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…At present, nothing is known about the function of the epicuticular secretion coats of Uropygi. The amorphous crust observed in Thelyphonida may assist in camouflage, for example, by reducing reflectivity of the smooth cuticle and incorporating particles from the substratum, as in some harvestmen and mites, in which the epicuticular secretion coat is enriched with soil particles (Porto & Pérez‐González, 2020; Schwangart, 1907; Wolff, García‐Hernández, & Gorb, 2016; Wolff & Gorb, 2016). The attachment of foreign particles was observed in some thelyphonids, but not to the same extent as in the other arachnid taxa mentioned.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine structure of the epicuticular secretion coat and associated glands of Pedipalpi and Palpigradi (Arachnida)

Seiter

Schwaha

Ferreira

et al. 2021

Journal of Morphology

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Pedipalpi Latreille, 1810 is a poorly studied clade of arachnids comprising the whip spiders (Amblypygi Thorell, 1883), short-tailed whip scorpions (Schizomida Petrunkevitch, 1945) and whip scorpions (Thelyphonida Cambridge, 1872). It has recently been shown that whip spiders coat their exoskeleton with a solid cement layer (cerotegument) that forms elaborate microstructures and turns the cuticle into a super-hydrophobic state. The amblypygid cerotegument provides taxonomic information due to its fine structural diversity, but its presence and variation in the sister groups was previously unknown. The present contribution reports the surface structure of the cuticle in species of Palpigradi, Thelyphonida, and Schizomida to determine if these taxa possess a solid epicuticular secretion coat. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that in addition to Amblypygi only species of Thelyphonida possess solid epicuticular secretion layers. Unlike in Amblypygi, in the Thelyphonida this layer does not usually form microstructures and is less rigidly attached to the underlying cuticle. A species of Typopeltis Pocock, 1894, which exhibited globular structures analogous to the amblypygid cerotegument, was an exception. Glandular structures associated with cement secretions in Amblypygi and Thelyphonida were considered homologous due to similar structure. Solid epicuticular secretion coats were absent from Schizomida, which is interpreted as a secondary loss despite the presence of slit-like glandular openings that appear to produce such epicuticular secretions. The micro-whip scorpion order Palpigradi Thorell, 1900 exhibited markedly different cuticular surface structures and lacked solid epicuticular secretions, consistent with the hypothesis that this order is not closely related to Pedipalpi.These results enhance the knowledge of the small, enigmatic orders of Arachnida.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine structure of the epicuticular secretion coat and associated glands of Pedipalpi and Palpigradi (Arachnida)

Seiter

Schwaha

Ferreira

et al. 2021

Journal of Morphology

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“…Namely, they found that (1) adult Blue-footed Boobies Sula nebouxii transferred soil particles to the eggs, (2) the eggs became dirtier through incubation, and (3) experimentally soiled chicken eggs were less likely to be taken by avian predators. Body soiling has been recorded in some birds and invertebrates (Montgomerie et al ., 2001; Lee et al ., 2014; Porto & Pérez-González, 2020). However, except in Montgomerie et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No Evidence of Deliberate Egg Soiling in the Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta to Improve Camouflage

Ramo

Castro

Pérez-Hurtado

et al. 2023

Ardeola

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Predation is one of the main causes of nest failure in birds. In order to overcome this, many species lay cryptic eggs, which enhances camouflage through either background matching or shape disruption, among other mechanisms. Despite this, ground-nesting birds still suffer high nest predation rates. One possibility to alleviate this could be to soil the eggs with particles of material surrounding nests, improving the camouflage. Indeed, it has been suggested that egg soiling is a mechanism of egg protection, but it remains to be demonstrated whether egg soiling is a strategy used by birds or is an unintentional by-product after incubating adults enter nests with dirty feet, legs and/or plumage. In this study, we analysed images from infra-red camera traps placed beside Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta nests, in which we had previously cleaned dirty eggs and provided mud with which the adults might have soiled the eggs, and we found no evidence of deliberate egg soiling in this case. There was a slight improvement (not statistically significant) in the camouflage of soiled avocet eggs in comparison to clean eggs, but only in one of two studied nesting sites in which the eggs were more soiled. Although egg soiling may result in improved camouflage, future studies should address its potential costs to establish why it has not apparently evolved as a deliberate strategy to improve egg camouflage in nesting shorebirds.

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“…by the tibia and the tarsus, where strong setae remain. Examples are the Biantidae and several genera among the Epedanidae; other examples are fi gured inPorto & Pérez-González (2020). In all these cases conclusions on phylogenetic relationships cannot be drawn.…”

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confidence: 99%

A mysterious dwarf: Suthepiidae nov. fam., a new harvestman family from mountains of northern Thailand (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores)

Martens

2020

Revue suisse de Zoologie

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Beauty under the mud: Soil crypsis in new species of the Malagasy genus Ankaratrix (Opiliones: Triaenonychidae: Triaenobuninae)

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

Fine structure of the epicuticular secretion coat and associated glands of Pedipalpi and Palpigradi (Arachnida)

Fine structure of the epicuticular secretion coat and associated glands of Pedipalpi and Palpigradi (Arachnida)

No Evidence of Deliberate Egg Soiling in the Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta to Improve Camouflage

A mysterious dwarf: Suthepiidae nov. fam., a new harvestman family from mountains of northern Thailand (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores)

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