Meeting Abstract
Stomatopod crustaceans, also known as mantis shrimp, are behaviorally complex marine arthropods. They possess unique eyes with independent movements and multiple analytical pathways. Streams of visual information from the eyes are thought to be integrated in the central complex (CX) for behavioral control. The CX is a multisensory integrator implicated in behavioral action selection, spatial orientation, path integration, and visual memory. In dicondylic insects, the CX is composed of four midline neuropils: the protocerebral bridge (PB), the fan-shaped body (FB), the ellipsoid body (EB), and the paired noduli (NO). Together, the FB and EB comprise the upper and lower divisions of the central body (CB). While the CX of insects and crustaceans share common developmental origins, the crustacean CX is more structurally simple. It is composed of a small PB sitting above a thin, bistratified CB. The stomatopod CX is an exception to this pattern. A recent student shows the stomatopod CX comprises of a well-developed, modular PB, a bi-layered CB, and a pair of noduli-like neuropils structures thus far found only in pterygote insects. While the upper and lower divisions of the stoamtopod CB are thought to be equivalent to the insect FB and EB, respectively, here we report a previously undescribed neuropil in the stomatopod Neogonodactylus oerstedii. Immunostaining with anti-DC0 and anti-synapsin reveal a bulbous neuropil posterior to the bi-layered stomatopod CB. This pattern of immunoreactivity is notably similar to that of the EB of insects such as cockroaches or fruit flies. These data imply that the bi-layered CB of stomatopods and other crustaceans is more comparable to the insect FB alone.
