Comparative Morphology of the Extrinsic and Intrinsic Leg Musculature in Dictyoptera (Insecta: Blattodea, Mantodea).

Insect legs, as primarily locomotory devices, can show a tremendous variety of morphological modifications providing a multitude of usages. The prehensile raptorial forelegs of praying mantises (Mantodea) are a prominent example of true multifunctionality since they are used for walking while being efficient prey-capturing and grasping devices. Although being mostly generalist arthropod predators, various morphological adaptations due to different environmental conditions occur across Mantodea.

Tanning of the tarsal and mandibular cuticle in adult (Insecta: Odonata) during the emergence sequence.

The arthropod cuticle offers strength, protection, and lightweight. Due to its limit in expandability, arthropods have to moult periodically to grow. While moulting is beneficial in terms of parasite or toxin control, growth and adaptation to environmental conditions, it costs energy and leaves the soft animal's body vulnerable to injuries and desiccation directly after ecdysis.

A switchable joint in the head of dragonfly larvae (Insecta: Odonata) as key to the multifunctionality of the prehensile labial mask.

Dragonfly and damselfly larvae (Insecta: Odonata) capture prey by rapid protraction of a raptorial mouthpart, based on a modified labium. Yet, in insects with biting-chewing mouthparts, the labium has an essential role in food handling. These two distinct functions -prey capturing and handling-lead to a mechanical problem in Odonata larvae: while the labium is always protracted in a straight line during prey capture, food handling requires more dexterity.

Extrinsic and intrinsic musculature of the raptorial forelegs in Mantodea (Insecta) in the light of functionality and sexual dimorphism.

Prehensile raptorial forelegs are prey capturing and grasping devices, best known for praying mantises (Mantodea) within insects. They show strong morphological and behavioral adaptations toward a lifestyle as generalist arthropod predators. In the past, few species of Mantodea were investigated, concerning morphological variability of the raptorial forelegs.

Taxonomic note on the species status of (Insecta, Odonata, Epiophlebiidae), including remarks on biogeography and possible species distribution.

The species included in the genus Calvert, 1903 represent an exception within Recent lineages - they do not belong to either dragonflies (Anisoptera) nor damselflies (Zygoptera). Nowadays, the genus is solely known from the Asian continent. Due to their stenoecious lifestyle, representatives of are found in often very small relict populations in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Vietnam, China, North Korea, and Japan.

Patients' awareness regarding the quality of their oral hygiene: development and validation of a new measurement instrument.

Background: The present research aimed to develop and validate a standardised survey instrument for the assessment of patients' awareness of the quality of their oral hygiene performance.

Methods: A digital questionnaire was developed that assesses both patients' naïve self-perceptions of oral cleanliness (SPOC) after tooth brushing and patients' perceptions after being informed how oral cleanliness may be captured in dentistry (SPOC). Three studies (N = 56 adults, N = 66 adolescents and one of their parents, N = 24 university students) assessed the instrument's feasibility (patient reports), reliability (internal consistency), validity (correlation with other constructs; sensitivity to manipulation of actual tooth brushing), and the correlation with actual oral cleanliness after tooth brushing.

Louse flies holding on mammals' hair: Comparative functional morphology of specialized attachment devices of ectoparasites (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea).

Hippoboscidae and Nycteribiidae of the dipteran superfamily Hippoboscoidea are obligate ectoparasites, which feed on the blood of different mammals. Due to their limited flight capability, the attachment system on all tarsi is of great importance for a secure grasp onto their host and thus for their survival. In this study, the functional morphology of the attachment system of two hippoboscid species and two nycteribiid species was compared in their specificity to the host substrate.

Functional morphology of cirri in the barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus (crustacea: Balanidae).

Barnacles rely heavily on their mobile cirri for food capture because of the sessile lifestyle. These filamentous food capturing devices are extended into the water current and perform undulating movements. Cuticular structures with corresponding musculature work together, to allow these highly repetitive movements.

The mouthparts of the adult dragonfly Anax imperator (Insecta: Odonata), functional morphology and feeding kinematics.

Insects evolved differently specialized mouthparts. We study the mouthparts of adult Anax imperator, one of the largest odonates found in Central Europe. Like all adult dragonflies, A.

Sand-throwing behaviour in pit-building antlion larvae: insights from finite-element modelling.

Sandy pitfall traps of antlions are elaborate constructions to capture prey. Antlions exploit the interactions between the particles in their habitat and build a stable trap. This trap is close to the unstable state; prey items will slide towards the centre-where the antlion ambushes-when entering the trap.

A controllable dual-catapult system inspired by the biomechanics of the dragonfly larvae's predatory strike.

The biomechanics underlying the predatory strike of dragonfly larvae is not yet understood. Dragonfly larvae are aquatic ambush predators, capturing their prey with a strongly modified extensible mouthpart. The current theory of hydraulic pressure being the driving force of the predatory strike can be refuted by our manipulation experiments and reinterpretation of former studies.

Illuminating nature's beauty: modular, scalable and low-cost LED dome illumination system using 3D-printing technology.

Presenting your research in the proper light can be exceptionally challenging. Meanwhile, dome illumination systems became a standard for micro- and macrophotography in taxonomy, morphology, systematics and especially important in natural history collections. However, proper illumination systems are either expensive and/or laborious to use.

Step by step and frame by frame - Workflow for efficient motion tracking of high-speed movements in animals.

Analysing the motion of animals, especially at high speeds, is often challenging. Motion tracking software needs to deal with a variety of visual contexts, variable lighting conditions, heterogeneous backgrounds and even background movements. Here we present motion tracking via the easy to use and constantly updated Adobe After Effects software - which is often included in software packages most researchers are already using.

Pressure-induced silk spinning mechanism in webspinners (Insecta: Embioptera).

The articulated appendages of arthropods are highly adaptable and potentially multifunctional, used for walking, swimming, feeding, prey capture, or other functions. Webspinners (Order Embioptera) are a paragon in this context. In contrast to other arthropods producing silk, they utilize their front feet for silk production.

Adaptations of dragonfly larvae and their exuviae (Insecta: Odonata), attachment devices and their crucial role during emergence.

Moulting, especially in 'hemimetabolous' insects that emerge upside down, is a crucial moment in their live. Losing their attachment during this situation can be fatal for survival. We here studied the emergence of dragonfly adults, describe structures involved in larval attachment to the substrate, and biomechanically test the pull-off forces of exuviae to natural substrates.

Resilin in the flight apparatus of Odonata (Insecta)-cap tendons and their biomechanical importance for flight.

In Odonata, a direct flight mechanism with specialized tendons evolved. One particular adaptation, the implementation of the rubber-like protein resilin in these cap tendons, might be of major importance. Although resilin was first described in one tendon of Odonata, to our knowledge no comprehensive study about the presence of resilin in the thorax exists yet.

Measurement error in μCT-based three-dimensional geometric morphometrics introduced by surface generation and landmark data acquisition.

Computed-tomography-derived (CT-derived) polymesh surfaces are widely used in geometric morphometric studies. This approach is inevitably associated with decisions on scanning parameters, resolution, and segmentation strategies. Although the underlying processing steps have been shown to potentially contribute artefactual variance to three-dimensional landmark coordinates, their effects on measurement error have rarely been assessed systematically in CT-based geometric morphometric studies.

Material composition of the mouthpart cuticle in a damselfly larva (Insecta: Odonata) and its biomechanical significance.

Odonata larvae are key predators in their habitats. They catch prey with a unique and highly efficient apparatus, the prehensile mask. The mandibles and maxillae, however, play the lead in handling and crushing the food.

The legs of "spider associated" parasitic primary larvae of Mantispa aphavexelte (Mantispidae, Neuroptera) - Attachment devices and phylogenetic implications.

The legs of the primary larva of Mantispa aphavexelte, parasite in egg sacks of spiders, were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), histology and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The leg morphology is described in detail, including intrinsic muscles. Functional adaptations of the leg attachment devices are discussed, especially regarding the material composition.

Holding tight to feathers - structural specializations and attachment properties of the avian ectoparasite (Diptera, Hippoboscidae).

The louse fly is an obligate blood-sucking ectoparasite of the common swift As a result of reduction of the wings, is unable to fly; thus, an effective and reliable attachment to their host's plumage is of utmost importance. The attachment system of shows several modifications in comparison to that of other calyptrate flies, notably the large tridentate claws and the dichotomously shaped setae located on the pulvilli. Based on data from morphological analysis, confocal laser scanning microscopy, cryo-scanning electron microscopy and attachment force experiments performed on native (feathers) as well as artificial substrates (glass, epoxy resin and silicone rubber), we showed that the entire attachment system is highly adapted to the fly's lifestyle as an ectoparasite.

Comparative morphology of the thorax musculature of adult Anisoptera (Insecta: Odonata): Functional aspects of the flight apparatus.

Due to their unique flight mechanism including a direct flight musculature, Odonata show impressive flight skills. Several publications addressed the details of this flight apparatus like: sclerites, wings, musculature, and flight aerodynamics. However, 3D-analysis of the thorax musculature of adult dragonflies was not studied before and this paper allows for a detailed insight.

The head morphology of larvae (Odonata: Zygoptera) focusing on functional aspects of the mouthparts.

Background: The understanding of concerted movements and its underlying biomechanics is often complex and elusive. Functional principles and hypothetical functions of these complex movements can provide a solid basis for biomechanical experiments and modelling. Here a description of the cephalic anatomy of (Zygoptera, Coenagrionidae) focusing on functional aspects of the mouthparts using micro computed tomography (μCT) is presented.

Three-dimensional reconstruction on cell level: case study elucidates the ultrastructure of the spinning apparatus of sp. (Insecta: Embioptera).

Spinning is a phenomenon not only present in spiders, but also in many other arthropods. The functional morphology and complexity of spinning organs is often poorly understood. Their elements are minute and studying them poses substantial methodological difficulties.

Decoupling Actions from Consequences: Dorsal Hippocampal Lesions Facilitate Instrumental Performance, but Impair Behavioral Flexibility in Rats.

The present study is part of a series of experiments, where we analyze why and how damage of the rat's dorsal hippocampus (dHC) can enhance performance in a sequential reaction time task (SRTT). In this task, sequences of distinct visual stimulus presentations are food-rewarded in a fixed-ratio-13-schedule. Our previous study (Busse and Schwarting, 2016) had shown that rats with lesions of the dHC show substantially shorter session times and post-reinforcement pauses (PRPs) than controls, which allows for more practice when daily training is kept constant.

The thorax morphology of Epiophlebia (Insecta: Odonata) nymphs--including remarks on ontogenesis and evolution.

The species of Epiophlebia are unique among the recent Odonata in showing a mixture of morphological characters of dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera). The status of the four described extant species of Epiophlebia is disputable from a genetic as well as from a morphological point of view. Here we present an analysis of the thoracic musculature of different nymphal instars of Epiophlebia laidlawi and Epiophlebia superstes to elucidate their morphology and ontogenetic development.