Global InformationPhragmosis information
Phragmosis is any method by which an animal defends itself in its burrow, by using its own body as a barrier.[1] This term was originally coined by W.M. Wheeler (1927), while describing the defensive technique exhibited by insects.[2] Wheeler observed the positioning of specially modified body structures to block nest entrances, as exhibited in various insect species.[2] The term phragmosis has since been further extended beyond just insects.
Examples of phragmosis are found in the order Anura (frogs and toads). Some species, such as Pternohyla fodiens and Corythomantis greeningi, have evolved a peculiarly casqued head adapted to protect the animal as it backs down a hole.[3] Another example is the head-plug defense used by the aphid Astegopteryx sp., in which a banana-bunch shaped gall consisting of several subgalls is used as a barrier.[4] Arguably, the most commonly observed phragmotic behaviour is within the ant family.[2] The behaviour is displayed in numerous taxa such as Camponotus, Colobostruma, Crematogaster, Pheidole, Blepharidatta, Cephalotes pusillus, Carebara elmenteitae, Stenamma expolitum, in which the soldiers have unusually large, disc-shaped heads, which are used to block nest entrances against intruders.[1]
- ^ a b Wheeler, Diana E.; Hölldobler, Bert (1985). "Cryptic Phragmosis: The Structural Modifications". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 92 (4): 337–353. doi:10.1155/1985/76848. ISSN 0033-2615.
- ^ a b c Brandão, C. R. F.; Diniz, J. L. M.; Silva, P. R.; Albuquerque, N. L.; Silvestre, R. (2001). "The first case of intranidal phragmosis in ants. The ergatoid queen of Blepharidatta conops (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) blocks the entrance of the brood chamber". Insectes Sociaux. 48 (3): 251–258. doi:10.1007/pl00001774. ISSN 0020-1812. S2CID 25923049.
- ^ Jared, C.; Antoniazzi, M. M.; Navas, C. A.; Katchburian, E.; Freymüller, E.; Tambourgi, D. V.; Rodrigues, M. T. (2005-01-01). "Head co-ossification, phragmosis and defence in the casque-headed tree frog Corythomantis greeningi". Journal of Zoology. 265 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1017/s0952836904005953. ISSN 1469-7998. S2CID 59449901.
- ^ Kurosu, U.; Narukawa, J.; Buranapanichpan, S.; Aoki, S. (2006-02-01). "Head-plug defense in a gall aphid". Insectes Sociaux. 53 (1): 86–91. doi:10.1007/s00040-005-0839-4. ISSN 0020-1812. S2CID 2070334.