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Mechano- and Chemoreceptive Sensilla

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Neurobiology of Arachnids

Abstract

Arachnids do not have antennae, but bear most of their sensory organs on their extremities. In particular the palps and first two pairs of legs carry a variety of mechano- and chemoreceptors. The basic receptor form is represented by the sensory hair or hair sensillum. According to the mode of innervation we can distinguish two broad categories: (1) hair sensilla with dendrites ending at the hair base (mechanoreceptors), and (2) hair sensilla with dendrites that enter the hair shaft and communicate with the outside through pores in the hair wall (chemoreceptors). Other sensilla, e.g., for thermo- and hygroreception, certainly occur in arachnids but have not yet been studied systematically.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Anatomie, Université de Fribourg, 1, Rue Gockel, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    R. F. Foelix

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  1. R. F. Foelix
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  1. Zoologisches Institut, Fachbereich Biologie, J.-W.-Goethe-Universität, Siesmayerstraße 70, D-6000, Frankfurt am Main 1, Germany

    Friedrich G. Barth

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Foelix, R.F. (1985). Mechano- and Chemoreceptive Sensilla. In: Barth, F.G. (eds) Neurobiology of Arachnids. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70348-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70348-5_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-70350-8

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