Abstract
The present study compares the proventricular morphology, analyzed under optic microscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), among ten Grylloidea species. The result showed that the size of proventriculus was of critical value. Internally, the main differences were the number of sclerotized appendix (sa), middle denticles (md) and lateral denticles (ld), and the structure of lateral teeth (lt). In addition, we analyzed the crickets’ feeding habits and note that the the proventriculus possesses highly sclerotized projections which act in the selection of victuals. The morphology of proventriculus is closely related to feeding habits. A clustering analysis of seven features of the proventriculus was constructed. It revealed that the proventriculus had significance for taxonomy and species relationships. Observations on morphological characterization of proventricular morphology will be useful in future studies of the feeding habits and phylogeny of crickets.
References
Chapman, R.F. (1998) The Insects Structure and Function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 38–40.
Cheeseman, M.T. & Pritchard, G. (1984) Proventricular trituration in adult carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Journal of Insect Physiology, 30, 203–209.
Fontanetti, C.S., Mesa, A., Zefa, E. & Passetti, F. (2002) Morphological characterization and comparative analysis of the proventriculus from three species of Endecous Saussure, 1878 (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Phalangopsinae). Entomotropica, 17(1), 15–23.
Gullan, P.J. & Cranston, P.S. (2005) The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. 3rd ed. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, 58pp.
Hao, Z., Kasumba, I. & Aksoy, S. (2003) Proventriculus (cardia) plays a crucial role in immunity in tsetse fly (Diptera: Glossinidiae). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 33, 1155–1164.
Judd, W.W. (1948) A comparative study of the proventriculus of Orthopteroid insects with reference to its use in taxonomy. Canadian Journal of Research, 26, 93–161.
Klowden, M.J. (2007) Physiological Systems in Insects. Academic Press, California, pp. 293–301.
Li, Z.Y. & Zheng, Z.M. (2004) Morphological character on the alimentary canal of four species of katydids (Orthoptera, Phaneropteridae). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 29(3), 430–433.
Li, Z.Y. & Zheng, Z.M. (2005) Morphological character on the alimentary canal of six species of katydids and their taxonomic significance (Tettigonioidea: Conocephalidae). Entomotaxonomia, 3, 24–27.
Li, K., He, Z.Q. & Liu, X.W. (2010a) A taxonomic study of the genus Metiochodes Chopard from China(Orthoptera, Gryllidae, Trigonidiinae). Zootaxa, 2506, 43–50.
Li, K., He, Z.Q. & Liu, X.W. (2010b) Four new species of Nemobiinae from China(Orthoptera, Gryllidae, Nemobiinae). Zootaxa, 2540, 59–64.
Liu, S.Y. & Hua, B.Z. (2009) Ultramorphology of the proventriculus in Panorpidae and Bittacidae (Mecoptera). Micron, 40, 899–905.
Lu, X., He, H. & Xi, G.S. (2009) The microstructure of alimentary canal and Malpighlan tubules of Teleogyllus emma. Chinese Bulletin of Entomology, 46(5), 764–767.
Molaei, G. & Lange, A.B. (2003) The association of serotonin with the alimentary canal of the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria: distribution, physiology and pharmacological profile. Journal of Insect Physiology, 49, 1073–1082.
Muralirangan, M.C. (1980) On the food preferences and the morphological adaptations of the gut of some species of Orthoptera. Current Science, 49, 240–241.
Serrão, J.E. (2001) A comparative study of the proventricular structure in corbiculate Apinae (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Micron, 32, 379–385.
Serrão, J.E. (2005) Proventricular structure in solitary bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Organisms, Diversity & Evolution, 5, 125–133.
Serrão, J.E. (2007) Proventricular structure in the bee tribe Augochlorini (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Organisms, Diversity & Evolution, 7, 175–180.
Woodring, J. & Lorenz, M.W. (2007) Feeding, Nutrient Flow, and Functional Gut Morphology in the Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, Journal of Morphology, 268, 815–825.