Chemical Ecology of Cave-Dwelling Millipedes: Defensive Secretions of the Typhloiulini (Diplopoda, Julida, Julidae).

ABSTRACT: Cave animals live under highly constant ecological conditions and in permanent darkness, and many evolutionary adaptations of cave-dwellers have been triggered by their specific environment. A similar "cave effect" leading to pronounced chemical interactions under such conditions may be assumed, but the chemoecology of troglobionts is mostly unknown. We investigated the defensive chemistry of a largely cave-dwelling julid group, the controversial tribe "Typhloiulini", and we included some cave-dwelling and some endogean representatives. While chemical defense in juliform diplopods is known to be highly uniform, and mainly based on methyl- and methoxy-substituted benzoquinones, the defensive secretions of typhloiulines contained ethyl-benzoquinones and related compounds. Interestingly, ethy

SUBMITTER: Makarov SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5399059 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature