Morphofunctional interpretation of the quills stridulating in tenrecs (Lipotyphla, Tenrecidae)

Zherebtsova O.V.

P. 1-11

The muscles providing the stridulating of quills in tenrecs (Hemicentetes, Tenrec ecaudatus and Echinops telfairi) were studied using histological and micromorphological methods. The complicated interlacement of the hypodermic muscle (m. cutaneus trunci) attaching to the quill bases was observed in Hemicentetes and Echinops. In this case, the alternate contraction of the cross-striated fibres causes the quills ability to vibrate rapidly and to rub together producing high (Hemicentetes), or low-frequency (Echinops) sounds (Eisenberg & Gould, 1970). The attachment of well developed mm. arrectores pilorum of the simple (Hemicentetes) and complex (Echinops) structure was also found on the bulbs of stridulating quills. Smooth skin muscles serve both for erection and elastic fixation of the quills, which is necessary prerequisite for the stridulation. In T. ecaudatus, in which the stridulating quills are completely lost in adult specimens, the individual fibres of m. cutaneus trunci were noted in the derm of dorsum skin.DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.5.1.01

• Chernova O.F. 2002. [New data on specialized spine cuticle of porcupines (Rodentia: Hystricomorpha) and tenrecs (Insectivora: Tenrecidae)] // Doklady Akademii Nauk. Vol.384. No.4. P.570-573 [in Russian]
• Dobson G.E. 1882. A Monograph of the Insectivora, Systematic and Anatomical. Pt.1. London: John van Voorst. 172 p.
• Eisenberg J.F. & Gould E. 1970. The Tenrecs: A Study in Mammalian Behavior and Evolution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. 138 p.
• Eisenberg J.F. & Muckenhirn N. 1968. The reproduction and rearing of tenrecoid insectivores in captivity // International Zoological Yearbook. No.8. P.106-110.
• Gambaryan P.P. & Zherebtsova O.V. 1988a. [Transformation of hypodermic muscles caused by the development of acicular integument in Insectivora (Erinaceidae and Tenrecidae). Communication 1] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.67. No.1. P.79-89 [in Russian with English summary].
• Gambaryan P.P. & Zherebtsova O.V. 1988b. [Transformation of hypodermic muscles caused by the development of acicular integument in Insectivora (Erinaceidae and Tenrecidae). Communication 2] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.67. No.2. P.189-199 [in Russian with English summary].
• Gorbunov A.V. 1985. [The peculiarities of the porcupine ecology in deserts of Eastern Caspian region] // Ekologiya. No.4. P.66-70 [in Russian with English summary].
• Gould E. 1965. Evidence for echolocation in Tenrecidae // Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol.109. No.6. P.352-360.
• Gould E. & Eisenberg J.F. 1966. Notes on the biology of the Tenrecidae // Journal of Mammalogy. Vol.47. No.4. P.660-686.
• Marshall C.D. & Eisenberg J.F. 1996. Hemicentetes semispinosus // Mammalian species. No.541. P.1-4.
• Mivart S.G. 1871. On Hemicentetes, a new genus of Insectivora, with some additional remarks on the osteology of that order // Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. P.58-79.
• Nicoll M.E. 1983. Mechanisms and consequences of large litter production in Tenrec ecaudatus // Annales de la Musée Royale de l'Afrique Centrale, Sciences Zoologiques. T.237. P.219-226.
• Petter J.J. & Petter-Rousseaux A. 1963. Notes biologiques sur les Centetinae // La Terre et la Vie. T.17. No.1. P.66-80.
• Poduschka W. 1996. Hyperthelia, litter size and duration of pregnancy in the subfamily Tenrecinae Cabrera, 1925 (Mammalia: Insectivora: Tenrecidae), with remarks on the longitudinal stripe pattern in the genus Hemicentetes // Contributions to zoology. Vol.66. No.2. P.119-128.
• Rand A.L. 1935. On the habits of some Madagascar mammals // Journal of Mammalogy. Vol.16. No.2. P.89-104.
• Rand A.L. 1936. The distribution and habits of Madagascar birds // Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol.72. P.143-499.
• Romeis B. 1954. [Microscopic technique]. Moskva: Inostrannaya literatura. 718 p. [in Russian].
• Shmalgauzen I.I. 1983. [The Ways and Regularities of the Evolutionary Process]. Moskva: Nauka. 360 p. [in Russian].
• Sokolov V.E. 1973. [Skin Integument of Mammals]. Moskva: Nauka. 488 p. [in Russian].
• Zherebtsova O.V. 1996. [Mechanisms of spine mobility in insectivorous mammals with spinose amour (Erinaceidae, Tenrecidae)] // Sokolov V.E. (ed.). [Status of Theriofauna in Russia and Neighboring Countries. Transactions of the International Conference, 1-3 February 1995, Moscow]. Moskva: Teriologicheskoe Obshchestvo. P.137-142 [in Russian with English summary].
• Zherebtsova O.V. 2000. Spiny cover and defense strategy of mammals // Transactions of the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Science. Vol.286. P.169-174.
• Zherebtsova O.V. 2003. [Mechanisms of spine mobility in Tenrec ecaudatus and Hemicentetes semispinosus (Insectivora, Tenrecidae)] // Zherebtsova O.V. & Nikulina A.N. (ed.). [Theriological Investigations. No.2]. Sankt-Peterburg: Teriologicheskoe Obshchestvo. P.139-147 [in Russian with English summary].