It has been popularly assumed, at least since the time of Pliny the Elder [1], that the hearing of moles and other subterranean mammals is acute, perhaps to compensate for their poor vision. In recent times, behavioural audiograms of subterranean species (most studies have been of rodents) have shown that audition is biased towards unusually low frequencies for such small mammals, typically bei...

Amphicarpic plants produce aerial and subterranean fruits on an individual plant, and these heteromorphic diaspores give rise to plants that differ in growth and ecology. Amphicarpaea edgeworthii is a summer annual amphicarpic species that grows over a range of light levels. We aimed to compare the response to shading intensity of plants of A. edgeworthii grown throughout their life cycle from ...

Subterranean animals are currently viewed as highly imperiled, precariously avoiding extinction in an extreme environment of darkness. This assumption is based on a hypothesis that the reduction in visual systems and morphology common in cave faunas reflects a genetic inability to adapt and persist coupled with the perception of a habitat that is limited, disconnected, and fragile. Accordingly,...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of endodontic irrigation procedures can be compromised by the complexity of the root canal system. Delivering irrigants to the apical third of curved canals presents a particular challenge to endodontists. This study compared the effects of two ultrasonic irrigation techniques on the penetration of sodium hypochlorite into the main canal and simulated lateral canals of c...

We designed a comparative study to unravel the phylogeography of two Alpine endemic spiders characterized by a different degree of adaptation to subterranean life: Troglohyphantes vignai (Araneae, Linyphiidae) and Pimoa rupicola (Araneae, Pimoidae), the latter showing minor adaptation to hypogean life. We sampled populations of the model species in caves and other subterranean habitats across t...

Many ant species construct subterranean nests. The presence of their nests may explain soil respiration "hot spots", an important factor in the high CO2 efflux from tropical forests. However, no studies have directly measured CO2 efflux from ant nests. We established 61 experimental plots containing 13 subterranean ant species to evaluate the CO2 efflux from subterranean ant nests in a tropical...

The annual feeding activity on paper baits of subterranean termites in deserti®ed (degraded-shrub dominated ecosystems) and relatively undegraded black-grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) grasslands was measured over six years on 12 sites. There were no signi®cant differences in mass losses from termite baits among the deserti®ed and undeserti®ed sites. Mass of paper consumed by termites on two sites do...

Aims of this work were to examine lateral canals in extracted teeth, to propose a new technique to produce artificial lateral canals, and to compare two obturation techniques. Cleared roots were examined to record measure and shape of lateral canals. Artificial lateral canals were prepared on human demineralized teeth before final clearing. Specimens were divided in two groups: canals of group ...

BACKGROUND Some species of obligate cavernicolous beetles are known to possess a unique feature-a contraction of the larval cycle. In contrast to many other subterranean beetles, life-cycle contraction in Trechini ground beetles (Carabidae) is correlated with a reduction in the number of eggs and a drastic reduction in the number of ovarioles. This remarkable peculiarity has only been reported ...