Mhatre, Natasha, Montealegre-Z, Fernando, Balakrishnan, Rohini and Robert, Daniel (2009) Mechanical response of the tympanal membranes of the tree cricket Oecanthus henryi. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 195 (5). pp. 453-462. ISSN 0340-7594
Full content URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00359-009-0423-x
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Item Type: | Article |
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Item Status: | Live Archive |
Abstract
Crickets have two tympanal membranes on the tibiae of each foreleg. Among several Weld cricket species of the genus Gryllus (Gryllinae), the posterior tympanal membrane (PTM) is signiWcantly larger than the anterior membrane (ATM). Laser Doppler vibrometric measurements have shown that the smaller ATM does not respond as much as the PTM to sound. Hence the PTM has been suggested to be the principal tympanal acoustic input to the auditory organ. In tree crickets (Oecanthinae), the ATM is slightly larger than the PTM. Both membranes are structurally complex, presenting a series of transverse folds on their surface, which are more pronounced on the ATM than on the PTM. The mechanical response of both membranes to acoustic stimulation was investigated using microscanning laser Doppler vibrometry. Only a small portion of the membrane surface deXects in response to sound. Both membranes exhibit similar frequency responses, and move out of phase with each other, producing compressions and rarefactions of the tracheal volume backing the tympanum. Therefore, unlike Weld crickets, tree crickets may have four instead of two functional tympanal membranes. This is interesting in the context of the outstanding question of the role of spiracular inputs in the auditory system of tree crickets.
Additional Information: | Crickets have two tympanal membranes on the tibiae of each foreleg. Among several Weld cricket species of the genus Gryllus (Gryllinae), the posterior tympanal membrane (PTM) is signiWcantly larger than the anterior membrane (ATM). Laser Doppler vibrometric measurements have shown that the smaller ATM does not respond as much as the PTM to sound. Hence the PTM has been suggested to be the principal tympanal acoustic input to the auditory organ. In tree crickets (Oecanthinae), the ATM is slightly larger than the PTM. Both membranes are structurally complex, presenting a series of transverse folds on their surface, which are more pronounced on the ATM than on the PTM. The mechanical response of both membranes to acoustic stimulation was investigated using microscanning laser Doppler vibrometry. Only a small portion of the membrane surface deXects in response to sound. Both membranes exhibit similar frequency responses, and move out of phase with each other, producing compressions and rarefactions of the tracheal volume backing the tympanum. Therefore, unlike Weld crickets, tree crickets may have four instead of two functional tympanal membranes. This is interesting in the context of the outstanding question of the role of spiracular inputs in the auditory system of tree crickets. |
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Keywords: | Auditory organ, Cricket, Orthoptera |
Subjects: | C Biological Sciences > C990 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified C Biological Sciences > C770 Biophysical Science |
Divisions: | College of Science > School of Life Sciences |
ID Code: | 6474 |
Deposited On: | 08 Oct 2012 21:46 |
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