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Common and special features of the nervous system of Onychophora: A comparison with Arthropoda, Annelida and some other invertebrates

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The Nervous Systems of Invertebrates: An Evolutionary and Comparative Approach

Part of the book series: Experientia Supplementum ((EXS,volume 72))

Summary

An account of the nervous system of the Onychophora, dealing with neuron types, synaptic connectivity, the structural organization of the brain and ventral cord, physiology and behavior is given. Features of the nervous systems of the Onychophora, other arthropods, and worms of different phyla are compared. The onychophoran brain contains the types of condensed neuropils (glomeruli, columns and strata) stated for other arthropods and some polychaetes. The preponderance of globuli cells in the brain and ventral nerve cord, the synaptic neuropils and tracts, mainly made up by tiny nerve fibers, and the nerve-muscle synapse belong to the characters of the onychophoran nervous system.

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  1. I. Zoologisches Institut, Universität Göttingen, Berliner Straβe 28, D-37073, Göttingen, Germany

    F. W. Schürmann

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  1. F. W. Schürmann
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  1. Fakultät und Institut für Mathematik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, NA 5-26, D-44801, Bochum, Germany

    O. Breidbach

  2. Fakultät für Biologie, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstr. 10, D-78464, Konstanz, Germany

    W. Kutsch

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Schürmann, F.W. (1995). Common and special features of the nervous system of Onychophora: A comparison with Arthropoda, Annelida and some other invertebrates. In: Breidbach, O., Kutsch, W. (eds) The Nervous Systems of Invertebrates: An Evolutionary and Comparative Approach. Experientia Supplementum, vol 72. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-9219-3_8

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