Interactive animated 3D reconstruction of the metacoxal joint of Trigonopterus oblongus

Click on the figure to start interactive 3D view; switch between views by using the menu (Adobe Reader 8.1 or higher required)

Interactive animated 3D reconstruction of Trigonopterus vandekampi simulating the movements from walking position to thanatosis posture

Default views illustrating the blocking mechanisms are provided. Click on the figure to start interactive 3D view; switch between views by using the menu (Adobe Reader 8.1 or higher required)

Blocking mechanisms of legs in <i>Trigonopterus vandekampi</i>.

<p>(A) Illustration of the movement from walking position to thanatosis. (<b>B</b>) Prothorax in ventral aspect; note the flattened mesial faces of the coxae and the narrow thoracic canal. (<b>C</b>) Simplified model of the prothoracic blocking mechanism. (<b>D–F</b>) Metacoxal leverage. (<b>D</b>) Hind leg elevated; note the depressed face of the metafemur (black arrow), the metathoracic intercoxal ridge (white arrow) and the abdominal protrusion (red arrow). (<b>E</b>) Inward rotation of the trochanter causes the depressed face of the femur to press against the posterior face of the intercoxal ridge (arrow). (<b>F</b>) The leverage effect causes the coxa to swing backwards and the joint comes to a dead stop.</p

Distribuition of living dung-feeding cockroaches supporting their common and cosmopolitan distribution [41], exclusively in dark (nocturnal, cave or under dung) environments.

<p>Feeding of diverse cockroaches on bird excrements and also facultative feeding on reptile and amphibian dungs is apparent. Based on Bell et al. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080560#pone.0080560-Bell1" target="_blank">[12]</a>, Christoffersen & De Assis <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080560#pone.0080560-Christoffersen1" target="_blank">[49]</a> and Roth & Willis <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080560#pone.0080560-Roth3" target="_blank">[115]</a>.</p

Three-Dimensional Reconstructions Come to Life – Interactive 3D PDF Animations in Functional Morphology

<div><p>Digital surface mesh models based on segmented datasets have become an integral part of studies on animal anatomy and functional morphology; usually, they are published as static images, movies or as interactive PDF files. We demonstrate the use of animated 3D models embedded in PDF documents, which combine the advantages of both movie and interactivity, based on the example of preserved <i>Trigonopterus</i> weevils. The method is particularly suitable to simulate joints with largely deterministic movements due to precise form closure. We illustrate the function of an individual screw-and-nut type hip joint and proceed to the complex movements of the entire insect attaining a defence position. This posture is achieved by a specific cascade of movements: Head and legs interlock mutually and with specific features of thorax and the first abdominal ventrite, presumably to increase the mechanical stability of the beetle and to maintain the defence position with minimal muscle activity. The deterministic interaction of accurately fitting body parts follows a defined sequence, which resembles a piece of engineering.</p></div

Dinosaur-age wood decomposing cockroach with coprolite and its ecological context.

<p><b>A)</b> wood fragment no. 123 (coprolite no. 3), volume 23077 µm³ (TRC- parenchymatous tangential ray cells); <b>B)</b> Lebanese amber (Blattulidae 1094A-I), length (head to leg end): 3.8 mm; <b>C)</b> a virtual synchrotron section (∼1.2 mm) through coprolite no. 3, wood particles are pale; <b>D)</b> percentual representation of volume of the respective wood particles; <b>E)</b> distribution analysis of simple particle count of 280 wood fragments present in all five coprolites plotted over the fragment size; <b>F)</b> Ratios of the Blattulidae and “<i>Voltziablatta</i>”- group – families that replaced each other during the Triassic (interrupted arrow) – to all cockroaches, plotted over the timescale (in Ma). The origin and extinction of dinosaurs are pointed with arrows. “N in %” means percentual representation of number of specimens, “spp in %” is a percentual representation of species. Original data.</p

Axis alignment and animation of the screw joint of <i>Trigonopterus oblongus</i> in CINEMA 4D.

<p>(A–C) 2D views (A: bottom, B: right, C: front) displaying surface isoparms for axis alignment. The boundary of the trochanter is indicated by the yellow frame, the rotation axis by the arrows (red: X axis, green: Y axis, blue: Z axis). (<b>D</b>) Displayed surface isoparms in central perspective. (<b>E, F</b>) Same joint (Gouraud shading); coxa (green) cut by attached Boole tool, thus revealing friction surfaces of the joint parts (white arrows).</p