Ultrastructure and mineral distribution in the tergite cuticle of the beach isopod Tylos europaeus Arcangeli, 1938

Two major cuticular proteins are required for assembly of horizontal laminae and vertical pore canals in rigid cuticle of Tribolium castaneum

“…They have electron dense material at the edges and electron lucent fiber-like material in the middle, which appears white and is denoted as pore canal fibers (PCF). Similar vertical fibrillar structures or vertical fibrils have been observed previously after removal of minerals and proteins from the exoskeletons of crustaceans, such as Homarus americanus (American lobster), Callinectes sapidus (Atlantic blue crab) and Tylos europaeus (sand-burrowing isopod) and have been referred to as pore canals and pore canal fibers, respectively (Cheng et al, 2008;Seidl et al, 2011). Presumably, they are chitin fibrils.…”

Correlation of structure, composition and local mechanical properties in the dorsal carapace of the edible crab Cancer pagurus

“…2D, E) (Hegdahl et al, 1977a). A similar fibre organization occurs in a number of different Brachyura (true crabs) species (Giraud-Guille, 1984;Dillaman et al, 2005), but has not been described for other Decapoda (Raabe et al, 2006) or other major crustacean taxa like Isopoda (Hild et al, 2008(Hild et al, , 2009Seidl et al, 2011). This type of microstructure is found throughout the endocuticle including the bulges, where the helicoidally organized mineralized fibre layers change their orientation from horizontal ( Fig.…”

“…Both structural organization and type and degree of mineralization observed in cuticle from different Crustacea species have been positively correlated to ecophysiological adaptations like defensive strategies (Becker et al, 2005;Hild et al, 2008), special habitats (Hild et al, 2008;Seidl et al, 2011) or economy of material and thus energy . The organization of the cuticle forming the dorsal carapace of the crab C. pagurus suggests a high resistance against mechanical loads, especially loads applied in the direction perpendicular to the surface.…”

Exoskeletal cuticle differentiation during intramarsupial development of Porcellio scaber (Crustacea: Isopoda)

“…Insect cuticle is sclerotized, while crustacean cuticle is not only sclerotized but hardened by calcification. Crustacean cuticle, once calcified, includes a crystalline polymorph of calcium carbonate (calcite) and amorphous polymorphs e amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) (Roer and Dillaman, 1984;Becker et al, 2005;Dillaman et al, 2005;Hild et al, 2008Hild et al, , 2009Neues et al, 2011;Seidl et al, 2011;Luquet, 2012). The mineral component in crustacean exo-and endocuticle is incorporated in the organic matrix, thus enhancing its strength and stiffness.…”

“…The elemental composition of the adult crustacean cuticle has been examined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and by energy dispersive Xray spectroscopy (EDXS) in several studies. Carbon, oxygen and calcium were demonstrated to be the major elements of crustacean cuticle and phosphorus and magnesium are also principal elements (Compere et al, 1992;Becker et al, 2005;Romano et al, 2007;Hild et al, 2008Hild et al, , 2009Seidl et al, 2011;Ruangchai et al, 2013). In the cuticle, most phosphorus occurs in ACP (Becker et al, 2005;Luquet, 2012) and a significant proportion of magnesium occurs within the calcite crystal lattice as magnesium calcite (Becker et al, 2005;Hild et al, 2008Hild et al, , 2009).…”