BAU UND FUNKTION DER TRICHOBOTHRIEN VON EUSCORPIUS CARPATHICUS L
BAU UND FUNKTION DER TRICHOBOTHRIEN VON EUSCORPIUS CARPATHICUS L
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DOI:
10.1007/bf00298033
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发表时间:
1967-01-01
期刊:
影响因子:
--
通讯作者:
HOFFMANN, C
中科院分区:
文献类型:
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作者:
HOFFMANN, C
The trichobothria of scorpions are sensory hairs which emerge from pit-like depressions in the cuticle and are readily deflectible in weak air currents. They are located exclusively on the pedipalps and are quite numerous. Each of the 2 pedipalps of E. carpathicus bears 65-69 (67 as a rule) of these hairs, which have a maximum diameter of 8 [mu]m and are 0.55-1.05 mm long. The number and arrangement of the trichobothria are nearly constant in all individuals belonging to the same species. Though their distribution over the surface of the pedipalps varies from species to species, they cannot be brought into contact with the body and consequently no proprioceptive stimulus can be exerted on them. In all individuals of the species each of the hairs has a constant topological position on the pedipalp. Moreover, each hair thus identified has its own constant plane of movement with respect to the scorpion''s body axes. In its morphological resting position or when the degree of deflection is held constant, the trichobothrium shows no sign of conducted excitation. When the hair is oscillated around its resting position, nerve impulses are produced during approximately 1/4 of the circle only, when the hair is deflected out of its resting position towards that side of the trichobothrium which is directed towards the dendrite of the sensory cell. The excitability of the trichobothrium is not the same for all angles of deflection even in the optimal direction along the optimal plane. Excitability is highest at mid-range (from 3-T) of the arc separating the resting position from the point where the hair strikes the trichobothrium wall, and drops off sharply during the first and last two or three degrees of arc. Moderate air-borne sounds do not excite the trichobothria; they are however highly sensitive to slow air currents. They may be especially well fitted for accurate indication of the direction of such air currents. The principles of directional sensitivity in mechanoreceptors are discussed along with the possibilities of indicating different stimuli parameters by means of impulse frequency and the absolute numtier of impluses/stimulus. Other related questions in the field of comparative sensory physiology are also treated.