SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF THE Pars Stridens OF Gryllus: TAXONOMIC IMPORTANCE.

Resumo

The genus Gryllus has several cryptic species, which cannot be distinguished by external morphological characters. The present paper analyses the pars stridens of 7 species under the scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the pars stridens of the species have morphological differences on teeth shape. Based on these results, we propose that an analysis of the pars stridens under the scanning electron microscope should always be performed in order to reveal characters utilized in Gryllus taxonomy, especially if associated with pars stridens morphometric data. Key words: Gryllus, pars stridens, SEM, Cryptic species.