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Figure 2 | Frontiers in Zoology

Figure 2

From: The role of ventral and preventral organs as attachment sites for segmental limb muscles in Onychophora

Figure 2

Morphogenesis of the ventral and preventral organs. Embryos of Euperipatoides rowelli (Peripatopsidae) at successive developmental stages labelled with the DNA marker Bisbenzimide (A–K) and RedDotTM2 (L). Confocal laser-scanning micrographs. Anterior is up in all images. The asterisks in A–H indicate the paired ectodermal thickenings that become the anlagen of the ventral and preventral organs. (A) Stage II embryo. (B) Stage III embryo. (C) Stage IV embryo. (D) Early stage V embryo. (E) Late stage V embryo. (F) Early stage VI embryo. At this stage, the ectodermal thickenings achieve their largest size. They become distinct from the remaining ectoderm and are delineated from each other by transverse furrows (arrows) along the main body axis. (G) Mid stage VI embryo. (H) Late stage VI embryo. Note the persisting cell strands that connect the thickenings along the body. (I) Early stage VII embryo. At this stage, the cell strands have degenerated and a border between the anlagen of the ventral and preventral organs (arrowheads in I–L) starts forming. (J) Mid stage VII embryo. (K) Late stage VII embryo. (L) Newborn juvenile specimen. Note that the paired anlagen of the ventral and preventral organs have fused medially, but their paired nature is still recognisable. Abbreviations: cs, cell strand; dp, dermal papilla; pv, preventral organ anlage; ve, ventral extraembryonic tissue; vo, ventral organ anlage. Scale bars: 100 μm (A–E, L). The images F–L are to scale (scale bar provided in L).

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