Functional morphology and ultrastructure of mouthparts in unfed water mite larvae Piona carnea (Koch, 1836) (Acariformes: Pionidae)

Abstract

Mouthparts of unfed larvae Piona carnea (Koch, 1836) (Acariformes: Pionidae) were studied on whole-mount preparations, semi-thin sections and with TEM and SEM methods. The mouth apparatus is incorporated within the pseudotagma, gnathosoma, composed of the infracapitulum and of the chelicerae resting on the roof of the latter. The gnathosoma inclines to the long axis of the body and is inserted at its base into the idiosoma by the circumcapitular fold. The basal cheliceral segments are long and fused. An anterior projection, the proposed fused fixed digits, protrudes from the distal end of the basal cheliceral segment forward between the movable digits. The movable digits are always found in protruded position, strongly curved upward and show a groove on their inner sides. The ventral wall of the infracapitulum is made of the mentum posterior and the malapophyses anterior to the palp articulation. The malapophyses are squeezed between the large palps and envelope the distal portion of the chelicerae from the sides. The ventral portion of the fused malapophyses are provided with a characteristic ventral cuticular fork of unknown function. Each malapophysis terminates by a flexible lateral lip provided by several rigid jags looking posterad. The palps face downward and backward, and bear on the tibia the large curved palpal claws turned laterad. The palp femur bears on the ventral aspect a characteristic wide spade-like projection provided with its own muscles originating on the dorsal wall of the femur. The labrum is a thick cuticular arrow-like structure protruding forward into the preoral cavity, whereas the cervix is a thin weakly sclerotized plate. The particular labral valve projects forward from the dorsal basis of the labrum into the preoral cavity. The labrum and the cervix are provided by their own small labral and cervical muscles originating on the cervical apodemes. The pharynx is totally separated from the ventral wall of the infracapitulum and is devoid of ventral dilators. The dorsal pharyngeal dilators originate on the thick and sclerotized capitular apodeme and, posteriorly, on the paired cuticular branches, capitular apodemes, which end freely in the body cavity and are combined with the common salivary duct. The short sigmoid pieces serve for origin of the levator muscles of the chelicerae. Retraction of the gnathosoma and the chelicerae is mediated by several sets of muscles originating on the dorsal plate.