# Sensillum

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sensillum
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sensillum.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensillum
> Source revision: 1291895553
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Sensory organ of arthropods}}

A '''sensillum''' (plural ''sensilla'') is an [arthropod](/source/arthropod) [sensory organ](/source/sensory_organ) protruding from the [cuticle](/source/Arthropod_cuticle) of [exoskeleton](/source/exoskeleton), or sometimes lying within or beneath it. Sensilla appear as small hairs or pegs over an individual's body. Inside each sensillum there are two to four sensory neurons. These neurons, or receptors, gather information about environment the arthropod is in:<ref>{{cite book|last1=Steinbrecht|first1=Rudolf Alexander|title=Ciba Foundation Symposium 200 - Olfaction in Mosquito-Host Interactions |year=2007|chapter=Structure and Function of Insect Olfactory Sensilla|series=Novartis Foundation Symposia |volume=200 |pages=158–183|doi=10.1002/9780470514948.ch13|pmid=8894297 |isbn=9780470514948 |issn=1935-4657}}</ref>

* Chemoreceptors (i.e.  trichoid, basionic, coeloconic, placodea)
* [Mechanoreceptors](/source/Mechanoreceptor) (e.g.: [bristle sensilla](/source/bristle_sensilla), [campaniform sensilla](/source/campaniform_sensilla), [hair plates](/source/Hair_plate), [chordotonal](/source/Chordotonal_organ) neurons)
* [Thermoreceptors](/source/Thermoreception)
* [Hygroreceptors](/source/Hygroreception)

Most sensilla are specially shaped according to the type of information they are gathering.

In [spider](/source/spider)s, [slit sensilla](/source/slit_sensilla) are used to detect substrate vibrations, while [trichobothria](/source/trichobothria) are used to detect air-borne vibrations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Changchao |last2=Zhang |first2=Junqiu |last3=Chen |first3=Daobing |last4=Meng |first4=Xiancun |last5=Liu |first5=Linpeng |last6=Wang |first6=Kejun |last7=Jiao |first7=Zhibin |last8=Sun |first8=Tao |last9=Wang |first9=Dakai |last10=Niu |first10=Shichao |last11=Han |first11=Zhiwu |last12=Ren |first12=Luquan |title=Crack-based and Hair-like Sensors Inspired from Arthropods: A Review |journal=Journal of Bionic Engineering |date=1 September 2020 |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=867–898 |doi=10.1007/s42235-020-0092-6 |s2cid=225398670 |language=en |issn=2543-2141|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Chemoreceptors ==

Chemo-reception is one of the most dominant senses in the insect kingdom. Many arthropods use chemical signals to locate food, shelter and mates.

Other invertebrates have similar sensory organs also referred to as sensilla; these consist of various papillae or ciliated areas of the cuticle connected to sensory neurons and occur in [velvet worms](/source/Onychophora), [tardigrades](/source/Tardigrada) and [leeche](/source/leech)s.<ref name=Ruppert>{{cite book |title=Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition |last1=Ruppert |first1=Edward E. |last2=Fox |first2=Richard, S. |last3=Barnes |first3=Robert D. |year=2004 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-81-315-0104-7 |page=508 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Arthropod anatomy

<ref>{{Citation |last1=Altner |first1=Helmut |title=Ultrastructure of Invertebrate Chemo-, Thermo-, and Hygroreceptors and Its Functional Significance |date=1980-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0074769608624274 |volume=67 |pages=69–139 |editor-last=Bourne |editor-first=G. H. |publisher=Academic Press |language=en |access-date=2022-08-13 |last2=Prillinger |first2=Linde |series=International Review of Cytology |doi=10.1016/S0074-7696(08)62427-4 |isbn=978-0-12-364467-1 |editor2-last=Danielli |editor2-first=J. F.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
{{insect-anatomy-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sensillum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensillum) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensillum?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.