title: Mouthparts and their setae of the intertidal isopod Cirolana harfordi.
abstract: The cirolanid isopod Cirolana harfordi is described as a scavenger and a predator that lives in the intertidal region. In order to understand the microanatomy of the mouthparts and the setae that allow this animal to handle and eat its food, a scanning electron microscopy study was conducted. C. harfordi displays a variety in the types of setae distributed on its mouthparts in a site-specific fashion, including complex setae placed on the medial edge of the maxilliped and maxilla. Terminal pores in some setae were found to contain a cupule, which is a hemispherical structure, housed in the concave recess of the pore, which demonstrates that the pore is more than merely a thinning of the cuticle as has been proposed. Future studies on setal morphology are needed for comparative microanatomy of cirolanid isopods.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thomson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D033321:Isopoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D009055:Mouth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D058618:Sensilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: Cirolana harfordi; crustacean; marine; mouthpart; scanning electron microscopy; setae