Search

Antennae (both the primary antennae and antennules) are the dominant sensory organs throughout crustaceans, providing both chemo-and mechanosensory information about their environments. How these sensory structures have adapted throughout crustaceans remains unknown. We investigate this question in freshwater crayfishes, which are amongst the most ecologically diverse groups of freshwater crustaceans, inhabiting lentic, lotic, cave, and semi-terrestrial environments. We collected data on the body size, antennae size, and antennule size within over 100 species of crayfish throughout three museum collections. Then, we use phylogenetic methods to explore and explain how ecology and phylogeny relate to antennae size evolution. Our results demonstrate a correlation between habitat and antennae size, but not antennule size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]