The exoskeleton of the female genitalic region in Petrobiellus takunagae (Insecta: Archaeognatha): insect-wide terminology, homologies, and functional interpretations.

The exoskeleton of the female genitalic region (abdominal venters 7-9) in Petrobiellus takunagae (Machilidae-Petrobiellinae) is studied using light microscopy and SEM. Sclerites are distinguished from membrane by the degree of cuticular flexibility. However, the microsculpture of the cuticle is shown to be useful in characterising the heterogeneity of the cuticle and in detecting weak sclerotisations.

The gonangulum: a reassessment of its morphology, homology, and phylogenetic significance.

The gonangulum is a sclerite in the female genitalic region of insects. Its presence or full development has long been considered an apomorphy supporting Zygentoma + Pterygota. Recent studies of female genitalia in several insect orders (K.

Skeletomuscular development of genital segments in the dragonfly Anax imperator (Odonata, Aeshnidae) during metamorphosis and its implications for the evolutionary morphology of the insect ovipositor.

The skeleton-muscular organisation of abdominal segments 7-9 in female Anax imperator L. (Anisoptera, Aeshnidae) was examined in the stages of ultimate larva, teneral imago, and mature imago, with special emphasis on the transformation of the muscle arrangement. The absence of certain muscles in the genital segments compared to the 7th pre-genital segment was noted on all studied stages.