Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 External morphology and functional anatomy
- 3 The integument, moulting and regeneration
- 4 The musculature and endoskeleton
- 5 The nervous system and sense organs
- 6 Sensory responses and related behaviour
- 7 Endocrinology
- 8 The alimentary canal
- 9 The poison glands
- 10 Feeding and digestion
- 11 The respiratory system
- 12 The circulatory system
- 13 Pigments
- 14 Connective tissue and fat body
- 15 Head glands
- 16 The Malpighian tubules and nephridia
- 17 The reproductive system and reproduction
- 18 Post-embryonic development and life history
- 19 Epidermal glands and their function, defence and predators
- 20 Parasites
- 21 Physiology and ecology
- 22 Taxonomy
- 23 Relationships of the chilopod orders
- 24 The classification of the Chilopoda
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - The alimentary canal
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 External morphology and functional anatomy
- 3 The integument, moulting and regeneration
- 4 The musculature and endoskeleton
- 5 The nervous system and sense organs
- 6 Sensory responses and related behaviour
- 7 Endocrinology
- 8 The alimentary canal
- 9 The poison glands
- 10 Feeding and digestion
- 11 The respiratory system
- 12 The circulatory system
- 13 Pigments
- 14 Connective tissue and fat body
- 15 Head glands
- 16 The Malpighian tubules and nephridia
- 17 The reproductive system and reproduction
- 18 Post-embryonic development and life history
- 19 Epidermal glands and their function, defence and predators
- 20 Parasites
- 21 Physiology and ecology
- 22 Taxonomy
- 23 Relationships of the chilopod orders
- 24 The classification of the Chilopoda
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The alimentary canal of centipedes is a straight tube which is clearly divided into fore-gut, mid-gut and hind-gut. The fore-gut originates as an ectodermal invagination, the stomodaeum, and hence is lined by cuticle. It comprises the pharynx and oesophagus, the latter sometimes differentiated into crop and gizzard or proventriculus. The mid-gut is of mesodermal origin (mesenteron) and the hind-gut is formed from a posterior ectodermal invagination, the proctodaeum. A pair of Malpighian tubules originate at the junction of the mid- and hind-gut and run forwards towards the head (Figs. 110, 111). They are described in Chapter 16. The so-called ‘salivary glands’ are described in Chapter 15.
The pre-oral cavity is bounded anteriorly by the labrum, anterodorsally by the membranous epipharyngeal surface, laterally by the mandibles and ventrally by the anterior portion of the hypopharynx, a delicate lobed structure which usually bears dense fields of hairs and the pores of unicellular glands. The mouth opens into the pharynx.
Geophilomorpha
The epipharynx is very poorly developed in geophilomorphs and the hypopharynx is reduced to a small bilobed structure covered with fine hairs. The pharynx is very short, its wall showing lateral longitudinal thickenings to which are attached the pharyngeal dilator muscles (Fig. 112) (Verhoeff, 1902–25).
The alimentary canal posterior to the pharynx has been described for Haplophilus subterraneus gervaisi (Plateau) and Necrophloeophagus longicornis (Fig. 110a) by Plateau (1878). The oesophagus is long and narrow, its folded cuticular lining lacking spines.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Biology of Centipedes , pp. 141 - 155Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1981