Scolopidia
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A scolopidium (historically, scolopophore) is the fundamental unit of a mechanoreceptor organ in insects. It is a composition of three cells: a scolopale cap cell which caps the scolopale cell, and a bipolar sensory nerve cell.
The general term of these overall sense organs is the chordotonal organs, with the scolopidia usually lying just under the exoskeleton. Scolopidia may be located within:
- the subgenual organ: located in the lower part of the legs; primarily senses vibrations in underlying substrate
- the crista acustica: collection of individually tuned scolopidia able to discriminate frequencies
- Johnston's organ: located in the antennae; senses motion of an antenna relative to the insect's body[1][2]
There are many types of scolopidia, depending on the sense organ in which they belong.