Prevalence of leg regeneration in damselflies reevaluated: A case study in Coenagrionidae

Natalie A Saxton; Gareth S Powell; Seth M Bybee

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2020.100995

Prevalence of leg regeneration in damselflies reevaluated: A case study in Coenagrionidae

Arthropod Struct Dev. 2020 Nov:59:100995. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2020.100995. Epub 2020 Sep 23.

Authors

Natalie A Saxton¹, Gareth S Powell², Seth M Bybee³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 4102 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA. Electronic address: nsaxton55@gmail.com.
² Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 4102 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
³ Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 4102 LSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA; Monte L. Bean Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.

PMID: 32977262
DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2020.100995

Abstract

The leg regeneration capabilities of damselflies are understudied. Here we present the first data of regenerated limbs across a genus of damselfly based on adult specimens collected in the field to illustrate the prevalence of limb loss among nymphs. We show that this phenomenon is much more prevalent than previously thought, as 42 percent of individuals were found with regenerated limbs. Furthermore, we test for patterns within these data to begin to unravel the potential causes of limb loss in nymphal damselflies, showing that intrinsic factors such as sex and species cannot explain the patterns of limb loss pointing to environmental factors as the probable cause. We argue that Odonata limb regeneration provides a potentially unique perspective into the nymphal stage of these organisms.

Keywords: Autotomy; Limb development; Morphology; Odonata.

MeSH terms

Animals
Extremities / physiology
Odonata / physiology*
Regeneration