Glossary of arthropod cuticle
This is a glossary of terms used in the description of arthropod cuticle, including that of insects such as ants. These animals can have surface textures spanning and combining cracks, excavations, imbrications, mealiness, punctures, reticulations, roughness, scratches, spots, wrinkles, and more (generically, 'sculpturing' or 'microsculpture'). As such, hundred of technical terms have been adapted for use in description of individual specimens from which taxa are defined.
A
[edit]- a-
- wanting or without
- ab-
- off; away from
- aciculate
appearing as if irregularly scratched with a needle[1]
- acinose
continuously set with granulations like those on a blackberry
- adsperse
marked with closely crowded, small spots
- alutaceous
rather pale leather-brown; covered with minute cracks like human skin and leathery in texture
- alveolate
honeycombed; with regular, deep, angular cavities (alveoli) separated by thin partitions; furnished with cells or alveoli
- areate
furnished with open areas or with areas defined on the surface
- areolate
divided into a number of small, irregular, impressed spaces[1]
- asperous
rough and uneven
- atomarius
with minute dots or points
C
[edit]- caelate
- with superficial plane elevations of varying form
- canaliculate
channelled or furrowed; longitudinally grooved (sensu lato); in general body form, long and concave so as to resemble a gutter or channel (sensu stricto)
- cancellate
a latticework or grid; a series of enclosed cells or chambers
- carinate
keeled; having keels or carinae; with one, or several, but usually few longitudinal narrow raised ribs or ridges
- carinulate
with several small, elevated longitudinal ridges or carinae; less prominent than carinate
- cariose
corroded; appearing worm-eaten; with cavities or ulcerations
- cataphracted
clad in closely set scales
- catenate
with longitudinal, connected elevations like links in a chain
- catenate
- chain-like, with smaller links than catenate
- channelled
having deep grooves or channels
- cicatrose
a surface having scars with elevated margins like those of small pox
- clathrate
latticed; elevated ridges decussing at right angles
- colliculate
continuously covered with low, rounded elevations, not as pronounced as acinose
- conflected
crowded; thickly clustered
- confused
markings with indefinite outlines or run together as lines or spots without definite pattern
- connected
scattered; spread irregularly and some distance apart; thin; eg., pile or hairs
- consute
with very minute elevations in series, some distance apart, and of a different color from the general surface, which resemble stitching somewhat
- coriaceous
leather-like in texture, with minute cracks like human skin
- coriarious
leather-like in sculpture; with minute cracks like human skin
- corrugated
wrinkled into furrows; with alternate ridges and channels
- corticinus
bark-like sculpturing or texture
- costate
furnished with longitudinal raised ribs or ridges (costae), much coarser than carinate
- costulate
- with longitudinal, coarse raised ribs or ridges; much coarser and more extensive than carinulate; less prominent ribs or ridges than costate
- crenate
having the margin evenly notched with rounded teeth
- crenulate
- having the margin finely notched with small, rounded teeth
- cristate
with a prominent carina or crest on the upper surface; crested
- cristulate
with several, small, crescent-like ridges or crests
D
[edit]- denudate
without hairs or scales (sensu stricto); without vestiture of any kind (sensu lato)
- destitute
- lacking or devoid of something specified; being entirely without (used to contrast)
- dispersed
with scattered markings or small sculptures
E
[edit]- e-
- without
- ecarinate
without or deprived of a keel or a carina (used to contrast carinate)
- echinate
thickly set or armed with short, stout spines or prickles; spiny like a hedgehog
- echinulate
- with very small prickles; minutely echinate
- elute
- with scarcely distinct markings
- embossed
ornamented with raised sculpturing
- ex-
- out of; proceeding from
- exarate
ploughed; sculpted; furrowed; sulcated; an excavated surface in general
- excavated
with a scooped out depression; superficially, with a hollowed out area
- explicate
unfolded or open; also, without folds or plicae
- exsculptate
with irregular, more or less longitudinal depressions, as if carved or scooped out
F
[edit]- farinaceous
mealy or powdery looking; applied to surfaces or wings
- farinose
dotted with many single flour-like spots; mealy
- fatiscent
with superficial cracks, crevices, or similar openings
- fenestrate
with transparent areas or window-like openings (fenestrae) as in the wings of some Lepidoptera
- fissate
with fissures or cracks (sensu lato); divided or cleft (sensu stricto)
- fluted
having parallel grooves or flutes; channelled
- fossulate
with oblong depressions (fossulae); more elongate or furrow-like than scrobiculate
- foveate
pitted; with numerous, regular, depressions or pits (foveae)
- foveolate
with small deep pits; finely pitted
G
[edit]- glabrate
- almost glabrous
- glabrous
smooth, devoid of pubescence (sensu stricto); devoid of any sculpturing (sensu lato)
- goffered
with regular impressions, closely set, and separated by narrow ridges; waffling or honeycombs
- granulate
covered with or made up of very small grains or granules; minutely and densely verrucose or minutely farinose
H
[edit]- hatched
closely marked with numerous short, transverse lines
I
[edit]- imbricate
partly overlapping and appearing like shingles on a roof or scales on a fish
- immaculate
destitute of spots, marks, or sculpturing (sensu lato); destitute of spots or marks (sensu stricto)
- impressed
having shallow, depressed areas or markings
- impunctate
not punctate or marked with punctures (used to contrast punctate)
- inermis
unarmed; without striae, spines, or any other sharp processes
- innotate
without markings
- institia
- striae or furrows of equal width throughout
- interstice
a space between two lines, whether striate or punctate
- interval
a space between two structures or sculptures
- intricate
confused; markings, whether elevated or depressed, so run into each other as to be difficult to see
- investitus
unclothed; without scales or hair
- irrorate
freckled or speckled; covered with minute spots or granules
L
[edit]- lacunose
full of hollows or cavities; with scattered and irregular broad, shallow cavities
- levigate
a smooth surface, sometimes somewhat shiny or polished; without elevations or depressions
- lineate
longitudinally marked with raised or depressed parallel lines; with linear marks
- lineolate
- finely lineate, longitudinally marked with very fine raised or depressed lines
M
[edit]- maculate
spotted; with many superficial marks or spots
- maculation
the pattern of marks or spots on a surface
- micans
shining or twinkling, in part or altogether
- munite
a surface armed with spines or other excrescences
- murriculate
- with a covering of fine, short, sharp, thick excrescences; irregularly scabriculous
- mutic
unarmed; lacking processes where such usually occur
N
[edit]- nitid
shiny or glossy; reflecting light
- nodulate
a surface sculpturing of small knots or swellings
- notate
marked by spots (sensu stricto); with a series of depressed marks as a sculpture (sensu lato)
- nude
naked; devoid of hair, scales or other surface vestiture
O
[edit]- obscure
dark; not readily seen; not well defined
- ordinate
spots or sculpturing arranged in rows or regularly arranged
P
[edit]- papillate
covered with small, nipple-like surface elevations, often porous at the tip
- papillulate
beset with depressions or elevations with a small elevation in the center (a papillule)
- perlate
spots or sculpturing arranged in rows or regularly arranged; beaded (sensu lato); bearing relieved, rounded points in series (sensu stricto)
- plica
fold
- plicate
folded or closed; with folds or plicae; impressed with striae to produce the appearance of having been folded or pleated
- politus
polished; smooth, shiny
- pollinose
covered with a loose, mealy, often yellow dust like the pollen of flowers; fine meal
- porcate
with several parallel, longitudinal ridges with deep, broad sulcations
- porose
- having pores
- prominent
raised or produced above the surface or beyond the margin; standing out in relief; conspicuous by position
- protuberance
any excrescence above the surface; a prominence
- pruinose
appearing covered with a fine dust or coarse powder, but which cannot be rubbed off; the brightness of the surface somewhat obscured by the appearance of a bloom like that of a plum
- pulverulent
powdery or dusty. Also, covered with very minute, powder-like scales
- punctate
set with fine, impressed points or punctures appearing as pin-pricks
- puncticulate
sparsely punctate with very fine, widely spaced punctures
- punctulate
finely punctate; with numerous minute and close set punctures
- pustulate
covered with small, blister-like swellings larger than papillae and never with a terminal pore
R
[edit]- rastrate
covered as if with longitudinal scratches
- reticulate
superficially net-like or made up of a network of lines; meshed; netted[1]
- rimose
with minute, narrow and nearly parallel excavations (rimae) running into each other; chinky; resembling the cracked bark of a tree
- rimulose
- minutely rimose; with minute cracks or fissure-like openings with sharp edges
- rivose
marked with sinuate furrows, like rivulets, not running in a parallel direction
- rivulose
- minutely rivose; with very small or fine sinuate furrows, like rivulets, which are not parallel
- rorulent
covered with a bloom of fine dust that can be rubbed off
- rugose
wrinkled
- rugulose
minutely rugose; minutely wrinkled[1]
S
[edit]- salebrose
rough, rugged, or uneven
- scabriculous
finely scabrous; with fine and regular short, sharp, wrinkles and/or projections
- scabrid
- sparsely scabrous
- scabrous
rough; irregularly and roughly rugose; possessing short, sharp projections or wrinkles
- scarified
sparsely appearing clawed or scratched; furnished with fine, irregular grooves, coarser than aciculate
- scrobiculate
uniformly covered with short, oblong or trench-like hollows
- sculpture
the markings or pattern of impressions or elevations on a surface
- sculptured
ornamented with raised sculpturing; superficially marked with elevations or depressions or both, arranged in some definable manner
- scutate
covered with large, flat, scales; having a scutum; shield-shaped; scutiform
- scutellate
divided into surfaces like small plates, minutely scutate
- serrations
lines arranged in parallel series, either in sculpture or in color, as in the Corixidae of the Heteroptera
- shagreened
covered with a closely set roughness, like the rough-surfaced horse leather termed shagreen; like shark leather
- sparse
scattered; spread irregularly and some distance apart; thin; eg., pile or hairs
- spherulate
provided with one or more rows of minute tubercles
- spinose
armed with thorny spines, more elongated than echinate
- spinulate
set with numerous small, thorny spines; minutely spinose
- squamate
scaly; covered with scales
- squarrose
rough with elevations; scurfy; rough with loose scales differing in direction or not parallel in direction
- striate
marked with parallel, fine, longitudinal impressed lines or furrows
- strigate
having narrow, transverse lines or streaks, either raised or impressed; composed of fine, short lines
- strigulate
finely or minutely strigate; with numerous short and fine transverse lines, either raised or impressed
- striolate
minutely or finely striate; with numerous parallel and very fine longitudinal impressed lines or furrows
- sub-
- under, slightly less than, or not quite so
- sulcate
deeply furrowed or grooved
T
[edit]- taeniate
- with broad, longitudinal bands or ribbon-like markings (sensu lato); shaped like a tapeworm (sensu stricto)
- tesselate
made up of squares like a chess board, either in sculpturing or in color
- torose
superficially swelling in knots, knobs, or protuberances; knobby (sensu lato); in general form, swollen or with a knobby or knotted shape (sensu stricto)
- torulose
minutely torose; with numerous small knobs or knots (sensu lato)
- tuberculate
covered or furnished with rounded, projecting lobes; more projecting than granulate, papillate, or pustulate
U
[edit]- undose
with undulating, broad, nearly parallel depressions running more or less into each other; wavy, resembling ripple-marks on a sandy beach
V
[edit]- variolate
pitted as if by smallpox; full of irregular indentations (varioles)
- venose
- furnished with veins or vein-like marking; of or pertaining to veins
- vermicular
worm-shaped or worm-like in general body form
- vermiculate
with superficial, tortuous markings resembling the tracks of a worm
- verrucose
covered with irregularly shaped lobes or wart-like protuberances
- vittate
striped; longitudinally striped or plaited
See also
[edit]- Arthropod exoskeleton
- Glossary of entomology terms – List of definitions of terms and concepts commonly used in the study of entomology
- Glossary of scientific naming
- List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names – List of terms used in biology
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Harris, R. A. (1979). A glossary of surface sculpturing (28 ed.). California Department of Food and Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. pp. 1–31.
External links
[edit]This article incorporates text from a publication with contents licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0: Shattuck, Steve, ed. (2011). "Surface Sculpturing II". AntWiki. Steve Shattuck.
