Abstract
The Teredinidae possess specialised calcareous paddle-like structures, the pallets, which flank the siphons. The external segmentation/non-segmentation of the pallets is used as the main diagnostic character to distinguish between the Teredininae (non-segmented pallet line) and the Bankiinae (segmented pallet line). The internal segmentation of the pallets has, however, seldom been accessed. Therefore, in the present study, the internal structure of the pallets of Psiloteredo megotara (Teredininae) and Nototeredo norvagica (Bankiinae) was analysed using scanning electron microscopy. Pallets of P. megotara were segmented, in a fashion similar to those of N. norvagica, rather than lacking true segmentation as had been reported previously. This finding, affecting a key character state, supports results from previous molecular work and shows the need for further work to ascertain the valid compositions of the Teredininae and Bankiinae.
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Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Simon Cragg for his guidance during this work. I am also grateful for the financial support received from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (SFRH/BD/17915/2004). I wish to thank the collaborators Dr J.-A. Sneli, Dr N. Smodlaka and Dr F. Bingel for deploying of wooden panels in Norway, Croatia and Turkey, respectively, and for sending them back to our laboratory. I also thank Mr Geoff Long for sectioning the pallets, and Mr Derek Weights and Dr Tony Butcher for their help with the SEM.
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Communicated by A. Schmidt-Rhaesa.
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Borges, L.M.S. The internal structure of the pallets of Nototeredo norvagica and Psiloteredo megotara (Bivalvia: Teredinidae): implications for subfamilial allocations. Zoomorphology 135, 33–41 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-015-0277-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-015-0277-4