A characterization of the egg capsules of Anacroneuria starki and A. talamanca (Plecoptera: Perlidae), with a suggestion about the distribution of stoneflies in the Tropics.
In this study, the structure of egg capsules of two species of Neotropical Perlidae: Anacroneuria starki Fenoglio and Morisi (2001 a) and A. talamanca Stark (1998), were examined. Eggs were studied using a scanning electron microscope. A morphological characterization of these eggshells is presented: layers, attachment structures and other anatomical features are described. The egg capsules of the two species differ in some aspects, but both are characterized by thin-layered egg coverings (vitelline envelope, chorion and extrachorion). On the basis of these observations, the importance of eggshell structure for the biogeographical distribution of Plecoptera in the tropics is discussed. A key role for egg capsules in the adaptation process of Plecoptera to aquatic environments of the Neotropics is hypothesized.
Department of Advanced Sciences and Technologies, University of Eastern Piedmont, Via Cavour 84, Alessandria, 15 100 Italy. fenoglio@unipmn.it
Stefano
S
Fenoglio
Elzbieta
E
Rościszewska
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007313:Insecta / Q000196:embryology*; D010063:Ovum / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014329:Tropical Climate