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Adhesive attachments of the endangered botfly, Portschinskia magnifica (Diptera: Oestridae)

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Abstract

Portschinskia magnifica (Diptera: Oestridae) is an endangered subcutaneous parasitic fly that is mainly distributed in Eurasia. The external morphology of the main adhesive attachments that include the pretarsus and tarsus is studied using scanning electron microscopy. Two types of tenent setae that are characterised as spoon-like tip and pointed-like tip, which can increase the contact points for attachment to a surface, are described in this study. Hairs around the bristle of the empodium in P. magnifica are much denser than those of other flies, and thus, we proposed that the dense hairs around the empodium may be a more efficient way to perform the sensory function. Compared with saprophagous flies that are reported previously, the microsculpture of the unguitractor plate is obviously different in that microplates are scale-like and similar to those of the water bug, Ranatra linearis. In addition, microtrichia found in the lateral region of the unguitractor plate provides stronger fixation between two surfaces. These results provide anatomical information that allows us to understand the role of the pretarsus as an attachment device.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Jun-na Shi (Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China) for her invaluable help in this study. This study was supported by the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (No. NCET-12-0783), the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 31201741), the Chinese Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. CPSF-20100470009, No. SFG-201104059) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. YX2013-08).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Non-invasive Research Technology for Endangered Species, Subject of Wildlife Conservation and Utilization, College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Y. Z. Yang & D. Zhang

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  1. Y. Z. Yang
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  2. D. Zhang
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Correspondence to D. Zhang.

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Yang, Y.Z., Zhang, D. Adhesive attachments of the endangered botfly, Portschinskia magnifica (Diptera: Oestridae). Parasitol Res 113, 3795–3800 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4046-y

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