Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets

Abstract The receiver sensory system plays a crucial role in the evolution of new communication signals in insects. Among acoustic communicating crickets, the tribe Lebinthini (Eneopterinae) has evolved a unique communication system in that males produce exceptionally high-frequency calls and female...

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Autores principales:	Erik S. Schneider, Heinrich Römer, Tony Robillard, Arne K. D. Schmidt
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f741ad2327a24de2b03ecb0720534169
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f741ad2327a24de2b03ecb07205341692021-12-02T15:06:00ZHearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets10.1038/s41598-017-15282-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f741ad2327a24de2b03ecb07205341692017-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15282-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The receiver sensory system plays a crucial role in the evolution of new communication signals in insects. Among acoustic communicating crickets, the tribe Lebinthini (Eneopterinae) has evolved a unique communication system in that males produce exceptionally high-frequency calls and females respond with vibratory signals to guide males towards them. In this study, we describe nine species of Eneopterinae in which the sound receiving structures have undergone considerable morphological changes. We revealed that the anterior tympanal membrane (ATM) of the ear was extremely thin, as little as 0.35 µm thick, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the thinnest tympanal membrane found in crickets thus far. Measurements of tympanum vibrations obtained from Lebinthus bitaeniatus demonstrated a strong sensitivity towards higher frequencies. The finding also coincides with the neuronal tuning of ascending neurons and the behavioural response of the Lebinthini. The morphologically specialized ATM and its mechanical sensitivity for high frequencies, therefore, may have driven the sensory exploitation of an anti-predator behaviour that led to the evolution of a new communication system known for this group of crickets. The hypothetical phylogenetic origin of the investigated tympanal ears is discussed.Erik S. SchneiderHeinrich RömerTony RobillardArne K. D. SchmidtNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Erik S. Schneider Heinrich Römer Tony Robillard Arne K. D. Schmidt Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
description	Abstract The receiver sensory system plays a crucial role in the evolution of new communication signals in insects. Among acoustic communicating crickets, the tribe Lebinthini (Eneopterinae) has evolved a unique communication system in that males produce exceptionally high-frequency calls and females respond with vibratory signals to guide males towards them. In this study, we describe nine species of Eneopterinae in which the sound receiving structures have undergone considerable morphological changes. We revealed that the anterior tympanal membrane (ATM) of the ear was extremely thin, as little as 0.35 µm thick, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the thinnest tympanal membrane found in crickets thus far. Measurements of tympanum vibrations obtained from Lebinthus bitaeniatus demonstrated a strong sensitivity towards higher frequencies. The finding also coincides with the neuronal tuning of ascending neurons and the behavioural response of the Lebinthini. The morphologically specialized ATM and its mechanical sensitivity for high frequencies, therefore, may have driven the sensory exploitation of an anti-predator behaviour that led to the evolution of a new communication system known for this group of crickets. The hypothetical phylogenetic origin of the investigated tympanal ears is discussed.
format	article
author	Erik S. Schneider Heinrich Römer Tony Robillard Arne K. D. Schmidt
author_facet	Erik S. Schneider Heinrich Römer Tony Robillard Arne K. D. Schmidt
author_sort	Erik S. Schneider
title	Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
title_short	Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
title_full	Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
title_fullStr	Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
title_full_unstemmed	Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
title_sort	hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/f741ad2327a24de2b03ecb0720534169
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Hearing with exceptionally thin tympana: Ear morphology and tympanal membrane vibrations in eneopterine crickets

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