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1 April 2009 Unusual organization of scent glands in Trogulus tricarinatus (Opiliones, Trogulidae): evidence for a non-defensive role
Miriam Schaider, Guenther Raspotnig
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Abstract

The morphology of the scent glands of Trogulus tricarinatus (Linnaeus 1767) (Trogulidae), a small, soil-dwelling opilionid species, was investigated by means of serial histological semi thin-sections. The glands constitute paired prosomal glandular sacs that open to the body surface via one pore (ozopore) on either side of the body, dorsally adjacent to coxae I. Consistent with the generally recognized organization of scent glands in Opiliones, an anterior non-secretory region of the reservoir could be distinguished from a posterior secretory area, the latter characterized by a thick vacuolated epithelium. However, there are several unusual scent gland features in T. tricarinatus. First, the ozopores are hidden, with each being surrounded by a kind of external secretion atrium formed by a dorso-lateral integumental fold (dorsal limitation), coxa I (ventral limitation), and a wall of projecting cuticular papillae (outer lateral limitation). A horizontal slit (“secondary opening”) between the top of this wall and the dorsal integumental fold is externally visible. Secondly, no fluid, but solid spherical structures that may represent condensed secretion are found in the reservoirs. Thus, the secretion must pass through the external atrium before reaching the outside, perhaps as a gas produced by slow sublimation of solid secretion boli. Scent gland organization in T. tricarinatus, especially the findings of an external atrium around the ozopores, is not consistent with use in chemical defence, as is generally assumed for scent glands of Opiliones, but indicates a possibly non-defensive role.

Miriam Schaider and Guenther Raspotnig "Unusual organization of scent glands in Trogulus tricarinatus (Opiliones, Trogulidae): evidence for a non-defensive role," The Journal of Arachnology 37(1), 78-83, (1 April 2009). https://doi.org/10.1636/SH08-01.1
Received: 2 January 2008; Published: 1 April 2009
KEYWORDS
chemical defense
Dyspnoi
Exocrine glands
Opilionids
Palpatores
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