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Morphology of the pronotal compound glands in Tritoma bipustulata (Coleoptera: Erotylidae)

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Abstract

Members of the cucujiform family Erotylidae possess a whole arsenal of compound integumentary glands. Structural details of the glands of the pronotum of Tritoma bipustulata and Triplax scutellaris are provided for the first time. These glands, which open in the posterior and anterior pronotal corners, bear, upon a long, usually unbranched excretory duct, numerous identical gland units, each comprising a central cuticular canal surrounded by a proximal canal cell and a distal secretory cell. The canal cell forms a lateral appendix filled with a filamentous mass probably consisting of cuticle, and the cuticle inside the secretory cell is strongly spongiose—both structural features previously not known for compound glands of beetles. Additional data are provided for compound glands of the prosternal process and for simple (dermal) glands of the pronotum. A combined defense plus anti-microbial function of the compound glands is tentatively proposed.

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Abbreviations

ec:

Extracellular cavity

ed:

Excretory duct of compound gland

edcu:

Cuticular intima of excretory duct

er:

Endoplasmatic reticulum

fs:

Filamentous structure forming core of lateral appendix

gd:

Glandular ductule of gland unit

gdc:

Constriction of glandular ductule

gdcl:

Cell enclosing glandular ductule (secretory cell)

la:

Lateral appendix of gland unit

lacl:

Cell enclosing lateral appendix (canal cell)

lu:

Lumen of glandular ductule or canal

m:

Mitochondrion

mgdcl:

Membrane of cell enclosing glandular ductule

mlacl:

Membrane of cell enclosing lateral appendix

ngc:

Non-glandular cell

rw:

Ringwall around orifice of glandular ductule

ss:

Spongiose structure of cuticular intima of glandular canal

v:

Vesicle

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Rita Grotjahn (UBT) for her skilful assistance in embedding the specimens and in handling the SEM and TEM. Furthermore we like to thank Elisabeth Helldörfer (UBT) for initial help in preparing the drawings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Animal Ecology II, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany

    Konrad Dettner

  2. Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Museum of Zoology, Königsbrücker Landstraße 159, 01109, Dresden, Germany

    Kai Drilling & Klaus-Dieter Klass

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  1. Kai Drilling
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  2. Konrad Dettner
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Correspondence to Kai Drilling.

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Drilling, K., Dettner, K. & Klass, KD. Morphology of the pronotal compound glands in Tritoma bipustulata (Coleoptera: Erotylidae). Org Divers Evol 10, 205–214 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-010-0008-0

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