title: A quill vibrating mechanism for a sounding apparatus in the streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus).
abstract: The streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus) is equipped with a quill vibrating mechanism on the dorsal side of the caudal trunk that has evolved as an extraordinary sounding apparatus for communication. An arrangement of 15 or 16 light-brown quills was observed. Thickened cutaneous muscles were confirmed beneath quills. We named this structure the "quill vibrator disc" (QVD). The QVD was 16.8 mm long and 8.55 mm wide in a typical adult. Longitudinal musculature symmetrical about the sagittal plane was developed in the QVD. Myocytes were found immunohistochemically to contain mainly fast myosin but not slow myosin. These findings indicate that the QVD is a specialized apparatus in the cutaneous muscle that contributes to the vibration of quills and to the production of sound for communication.
authors.affiliation: The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. hendo@um.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koyabu
authors.forename: Junpei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rakotondraparany
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yonezawa
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D007312:Eulipotyphla / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D034582:Integumentary System