Barth Friedrich G, Wadepuhl Martin
Zoologisches Institut der Universität München, 8 München 2, Luisenstr. 14, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
J Morphol. 1975 Feb;145(2):209-227. doi: 10.1002/jmor.1051450207.
As in other arthropods the exoskeleton of arachnids is subjected to loads generated by external stimuli and behavioral activities. Far from being mere by-products of various activities such loads act as signals for mechanoreceptors capable of detecting minute displacements caused by them in the cuticle. In arachnids the slit sense organs serve in this capacity. Spiders have the most elaborate system of slit sense organs. Our previous studies clearly pointed to a functional significance of their specific location and orientation, as well as degree and type of aggregation (isolated, grouped, compound or lyriform) on respective body parts. The present study extends our work to the slit sense organs of scorpions. It gives a detailed account of the topography of the organs on the walking legs. In general slits are less orderly arranged on the legs of scorpions than on those of spiders. In the scorpion they never aggregate to form lyriform organs. Instead there are groups at comparable locations forming much more irregular, but still specific patterns. Isolated slits are more numerous on the scorpion leg, but are also less regularly distrubuted there. A common feature of the majority of slits on both the spider and the scorpion leg is their position on the lateral surfaces and their orientation roughly parallel to the long axis of the leg.
与其他节肢动物一样，蛛形纲动物的外骨骼会承受外部刺激和行为活动产生的负荷。这些负荷绝非各种活动的简单副产品，而是作为机械感受器的信号，能够检测它们在角质层中引起的微小位移。在蛛形纲动物中，裂隙感觉器官就发挥着这种作用。蜘蛛拥有最为复杂的裂隙感觉器官系统。我们之前的研究清楚地表明了其特定位置、方向以及在各个身体部位的聚集程度和类型（孤立的、成组的、复合的或琴形的）具有功能意义。本研究将我们的工作扩展到了蝎子的裂隙感觉器官。它详细描述了步行腿上这些器官的形态。一般来说，蝎子腿上的裂隙排列不如蜘蛛腿上的有序。在蝎子身上，它们从不聚集形成琴形器官。相反，在类似位置有一些组，形成的模式更加不规则，但仍然是特定的。蝎子腿上孤立的裂隙更多，但分布也更不规则。蜘蛛腿和蝎子腿上大多数裂隙的一个共同特征是它们在侧面的位置以及大致与腿的长轴平行的方向。
