On the Origin of the External Genitalia of Insects1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In a recent morphological study of the abdomen of a machilid and a rhaphidiid the writer (1957) found strong indications that the external insect genitalia are sternal in origin, as was maintained by Heymons (1896a–1899b). This is contrary to the currently accepted theory that the genitalia are modified limbs. The present essay is an attempt to investigate these indications further through search of as much pertinent literature as possible, so as to determine how well Heymons' original idea is supported. It also attempts to discover how and why, if the genitalia are of sternal origin, this theory has been neglected in recent years; or, if the limb theory of the origin of the insect genitalia can be justified, how secure are the grounds on which it rests. The present survey, therefore, is secondarily a search for the sources of confusion and discrepancies, and for the problems involved therein.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: