Scaled 3D-printed models of insect outer-ear with tympanic membranes and acoustic trachea preserving key acoustic features.

ABSTRACT: Katydids (Insecta, Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) possess a sophisticated foreleg ear with two tympana receiving sound externally through a pinna that acts as a bat detector and internally through an acoustic trachea for conspecific communication. Their miniature scale hinders experimentation, prompting the use of scaled models, yet previous studies have not replicated the full pinna-tympana assembly or the complete acoustic trachea. In this study, micro-CT imaging, AI-assisted segmentation and multi-material 3D-printed assembly were used to generate scaled models. Scaled copies of the pinna-tympanum assembly and the complete acoustic trachea of the neotropical katydid Copiphora gorgonensis were fabricated from high-fidelity reconstructions. Flexible TPU membranes reproduced the expecte

SUBMITTER: Islam MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12757536 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature