The fine structure of muscle attachments in an acarid mite, Caloglyphus mycophagus (Megnin) (Acarina).
The fine structure of the myo-cuticular junction in an acarid mite, Caloglyphus mycophagus, is described. The muscle fibres are attached to the cuticle via flattened, much invaginated, epidermal cells. Unlike the situation described for other arthropods, the stress across these epidermal cells does not appear to be transmitted by microtubules but rather by desmosome-like structures which form intraepidermal cell bridges where invaginations from the outer and inner surfaces of the epidermal cells lie close together. The muscles are attached to the inner surface of this complex desmosome and the outer surface is linked to the cuticle by extracellular fibrils.
Kuo
J S
JS
Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
McCully
M E
ME
Haggis
G H
GH