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Tungidae
Hectopsyllidae is a small family of fleas, containing only the chigoe flea '' Tunga penetrans'' and the genus ''Hectopsylla''. They were formerly known as Tungidae, and by authorities that demote the Pulicoidea to family rank they are treated as subfamily Hectopsyllinae (formerly Tunginae). Only 2 genera with some handfuls of species are placed here nowadays, making further subdivision of the family unnecessary. These fleas usually parasitize terrestrial mammals, and in a few cases birds and bats. The females are by and large immobile and will remain attached to the same place for prolonged periods of time, possibly until they die. ''Hectopsylla narium'' was found to live inside the nostrils of the burrowing parrot (''Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus''). The closest living relatives of the Hectopsyllidae are the common fleas, Pulicidae. The Hectopsyllidae differ from these by the following characteristics: * Antennal club with punctiform sensilla * dorsal and medial set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunga Penetrans
''Tunga penetrans'' is a species of flea also known as the jigger, jigger flea, chigoe, chigo, chigoe flea, chigo flea, nigua, sand flea, or burrowing flea. It is a parasitic insect found in most tropical and sub-tropical climates. In its parasitic phase it has significant impact on its hosts, which include humans and certain other mammalian species. A parasitical infestation of ''T. penetrans'' is called tungiasis. Jiggers are often confused with chiggers, a type of mite. Jiggers are native to Central and South America, and have been introduced by colonialists to sub-Saharan Africa.Cestari TF, Pessato S, Ramos-e-Silva M Tungiasis and myiasis.' Clin Dermatol. 2007 Mar-Apr;25(2):158-64. Synonyms for ''Tunga penetrans'' include ''Sarcopsylla penetrans'', ''Pulex penetrates'', and many others. Identification ''T. penetrans'' is the smallest known flea, at only 1 mm. It is most recognizable in its parasite phase. While embedded under the stratum corneum layer of the skin, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hectopsylla
''Hectopsylla'' is a genus of fleas in the family Hectopsyllidae that parasitize non-volant mammals, birds, and bats. The genus comprises thirteen species, six of which were described in whole or part by Karl Jordan between 1906–1942. Two of the species in ''Hectopsylla'', ''H. psittaci'' and ''H. pulex'', go under common names, with ''H. psittaci'' identified as the sticktight flea and ''H. pulex'' identified as the chiggerflea. Hastritter and Méndez (2000) consider the genus ''Rhynchopsyllus'' a junior system of the genus. Taxonomy Hastritter and Méndez (2000) state that ''Rhynchopsyllus'' is a junior system of ''Hectopsylla''. The type species, by monotypy, is ''H. psittaci''. Species There are thirteen species in the genus ''Hectopsylla''. *''Hectopsylla broscus'' (Jordan & Rothschild, 1906) ''H. broscus'' is described as similar to ''H. coniger'', but the bristles of the head are longer, with the proportion of the second segment of the maxillary palpus to the four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulicidae
The Pulicidae are a flea family in the order Siphonaptera. Currently, this family has 181 species in 27 genera. Of these, 16 are known from North America. Like all 2,500 Siphonaptera, the Pulicidae are ectoparasites. These fleas are wingless, laterally flattened, and great jumpers. They must be able to jump quickly and at great relative heights in order to latch onto their host for feeding and for rapid escape from their host. They make incredible jumps using the protein, resilin. It charges the energy in their body, allowing more forceful and frequent jumps than would be possible relying on only their muscles. This also means that they can to jump frequently without exhausting their muscles. They mainly feed on mammal blood, and many Siphonoptera families, including Pulicidae, transmit disease. Ecology Pulicidae feed on mammalian blood. ''Ctenocephalides felis felis'' is also known as the cat flea, and is an extremely important parasite of domestic cats and dogs. They p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adaptation (biology)
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process. Thirdly, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection. Historically, adaptation has been described from the time of the ancient Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Aristotle. In 18th and 19th century natural theology, adaptation was taken as evidence for the existence of a deity. Charles Darwin proposed instead that it was explained by natural selection. Adaptation is related to biological fitness, which governs the rate of evolution as measured by change in allele frequencies. Often, two or more species co-adapt and co-evolve as they develop adaptations that interlock with those of the ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apodeme
An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as " shells". Examples of exoskeletons within animals include the arthropod exoskeleton shared by chelicerates, myriapods, crustaceans, and insects, as well as the shell of certain sponges and the mollusc shell shared by snails, clams, tusk shells, chitons and nautilus. Some animals, such as the turtle, have both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton. Role Exoskeletons contain rigid and resistant components that fulfill a set of functional roles in many animals including protection, excretion, sensing, support, feeding and acting as a barrier against desiccation in terrestrial organisms. Exoskeletons have a role in defense from pests and predators, support and in providing an attachment framework for m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aedeagus
An aedeagus (plural aedeagi) is a reproductive organ of male arthropods through which they secrete sperm from the testes during copulation with a female. It can be thought of as the insect equivalent of a mammal's penis, though the comparison is fairly loose given the greater complexity of insect reproduction. The term is derived from Ancient Greek αἰδοῖα (''aidoia'', "private parts") and ἀγός (''agos'', "leader"). It is pronounced or . The aedeagus is part of the male's abdomen, which is the hindmost of the three major body sections of an insect. The pair of testes of the insect are connected to the aedeagus through the genital ducts. The aedeagus is part of the male insect's phallus, a complex and often species-specific arrangement of more or less sclerotized (hardened) flaps and hooks which also includes in some species the valvae (clasper), which are paired organs which help the male hold on to the female during copulation. During copulation, the aedeagus co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamina
Lamina may refer to: Science and technology * Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics * Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between the layers * Lamina (algae), a structure in seaweeds * Lamina (anatomy), with several meanings * Lamina (leaf), the flat part of a leaf, an organ of a plant * Lamina, the largest petal of a floret in an aster family flowerhead: see * ''Lamina'' (spider), a genus in the family Toxopidae * Lamina (neuropil), the most peripheral neuropil of the insect visual system *Nuclear lamina, another structure of a living cell *Basal lamina, a structure of a living cell *Lamina propria, the connective part of the mucous *Lamina of the vertebral arch *Lamination (geology), a layering structure in sedimentary rocks usually less than 1 cm in thickness * Laminae, a part of the horse hoof * Laminae, another name for the core lamiids, a clade in botany S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sclerosis (medicine)
Sclerosis (from Greek σκληρός ''sklērós'', "hard") is the stiffening of a tissue or anatomical feature, usually caused by a replacement of the normal organ-specific tissue with connective tissue. The structure may be said to have undergone sclerotic changes or display sclerotic lesions, which refers to the process of sclerosis. Common medical conditions whose pathology involves sclerosis include: * Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neurone disease—a progressive, incurable, usually fatal disease of motor neurons. * Atherosclerosis, a deposit of fatty materials, such as cholesterol, in the arteries which causes hardening. * Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is a disease that attacks the kidney's filtering system (glomeruli) causing serious scarring and thus a cause of nephrotic syndrome in children and adolescents, as well as an important cause of kidney failure in adults. * Hippocampal sclerosis, a brain damage often seen in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sternum (arthropod)
The sternum (pl. "sterna") is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen. In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external. However, they can sometimes be divided in two or more, in which case the subunits are called sternites, and may also be modified on the terminal abdominal segments so as to form part of the functional genitalia, in which case they are frequently reduced in size and development, and may become internalized and/or membranous. For a detailed explanation of the terminology, see Kinorhynchs have tergal and sternal plates too, though seemingly not homologous with those of arthropods.Sørensen, M. V. et al. Phylogeny of Kinorhyncha based on morphology and two molecular loci. PLoS One 10, 1–33 (2015). Ventrites are externally visible sternites. Usually the first sternite is covered up, so that vertrite numbers do not correspond to sternid numbers. The term is also used in other arthropod groups such as crustaceans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatomical Terms Of Location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provides a definition of what is at the front ("anterior"), behind ("posterior") and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and anatomical axes. The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether an organism is bipedal or quadrupedal. Additionally, for some animals such as invertebrates, some terms may not have any meaning at all; for example, an animal that is radially symmetrical will have no anterior surface, but can still have a description that a part is close to the middle ("proximal") or further from the middle ("distal"). International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standard vocabularies for subdisciplines of anatom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sensilia
Campaniform sensilla are a class of mechanoreceptors found in insects, which respond to local stress and strain within the animal's cuticle. Campaniform sensilla function as proprioceptors that detect mechanical load as resistance to muscle contraction, similar to mammalian Golgi tendon organs. Sensory feedback from campaniform sensilla is integrated in the control of posture and locomotion. Structure Each campaniform sensillum consists of a flexible dome, which is embedded in a spongy socket within the cuticle and innervated by the dendrites of a single bipolar sensory neuron (see schematic cross-section). Campaniform sensilla are often oval-shaped with long axes of about 5-10 µm (see SEM). Campaniform sensilla are distributed across the body surface of many insects. The fruit fly ''Drosophila melanogaster'', for example, has over 680 sensilla. Campaniform sensilla are located in regions where stress is likely to be high, including on the legs, antennae, wings, and halt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terga
A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'margin'. A given tergum may be divided into hardened plates or sclerites commonly referred to as tergites. In a thoracic segment, for example, the tergum may be divided into an anterior notum and a posterior scutellum. Lateral extensions of a tergite are known as paranota (Greek for "alongside the back") or ''carinae'' (Latin for "keel"), exemplified by the flat-backed millipedes of the order Polydesmida. Kinorhynchs have tergal and sternal plates too, though seemingly not homologous with those of arthropods. Tergo-tergal is a stridulatory mechanism in which fine spines of the abdominal tergites are rubbed together to produce sound. This process is known as abdominal telescoping. Examples File:Andrena spiraeana abdomen.jpg , Abdominal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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