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The thorax of the cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus: anatomical adaptations in an ancient wingless insect lineage (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, February 2016
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Title
The thorax of the cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus: anatomical adaptations in an ancient wingless insect lineage (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)
Published in
BMC Ecology and Evolution, February 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12862-016-0612-5
Pubmed ID
Authors

Fanny Leubner, Thomas Hörnschemeyer, Sven Bradler

Abstract

Secondary winglessness is a common phenomenon found among neopteran insects. With an estimated age of at least 140 million years, the cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) form the oldest exclusively wingless lineage within the long-horned grasshoppers (Ensifera). With respect to their morphology, cave crickets are generally considered to represent a `primitive' group of Ensifera, for which no apomorphic character has been reported so far. We present the first detailed investigation and description of the thoracic skeletal and muscular anatomy of the East Mediterranean cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus (Ensifera: Rhaphidophoridae). T. neglectus possesses sternopleural muscles that are not yet reported from other neopteran insects. Cave crickets in general exhibit some unique features with respect to their thoracic skeletal anatomy: an externally reduced prospinasternum, a narrow median sclerite situated between the meso- and metathorax, a star-shaped prospina, and a triramous metafurca. The thoracic muscle equipment of T. neglectus compared to that of the bush cricket Conocephalus maculatus (Ensifera: Tettigoniidae) and the house cricket Acheta domesticus (Ensifera: Gryllidae) reveals a number of potentially synapomorphic characters between these lineages. Based on the observed morphology we favor a closer relationship of Rhaphidophoridae to Tettigoniidae rather than to Gryllidae. In addition, the comparison of the thoracic morphology of T. neglectus to that of other wingless Polyneoptera allows reliable conclusions about anatomical adaptations correlated with secondary winglessness. The anatomy in apterous Ensifera, viz. the reduction of discrete direct and indirect flight muscles as well as the strengthening of specific leg muscles, largely resembles the condition found in wingless stick insects (Euphasmatodea), but is strikingly different from that of other related wingless insects, e.g. heel walkers (Mantophasmatodea), ice crawlers (Grylloblattodea), and certain grasshoppers (Caelifera). The composition of direct flight muscles largely follows similar patterns in winged respectively wingless species within major polyneopteran lineages, but it is highly heterogeneous between those lineages.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 26 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United Kingdom 1 4%
Unknown 25 96%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 7 27%
Researcher 5 19%
Student > Master 4 15%
Other 2 8%
Student > Ph. D. Student 2 8%
Other 3 12%
Unknown 3 12%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 17 65%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 2 8%
Computer Science 1 4%
Sports and Recreations 1 4%
Medicine and Dentistry 1 4%
Other 1 4%
Unknown 3 12%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 04 March 2016.
All research outputs
#8,534,528
of 25,371,288 outputs
Outputs from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#1,997
of 3,714 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#111,861
of 312,011 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#38
of 72 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,371,288 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,714 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.5. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 312,011 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 54% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 72 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.