Volvation

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Caecosphaeroma burgundum: two of three pillbugs have curled themselves into "pills" Caecosphaeroma en boule.jpg
Caecosphaeroma burgundum : two of three pillbugs have curled themselves into "pills"

Volvation (from Latin volvere "roll", and the suffix -(a)tion; sometimes called enrolment or conglobation), is a defensive behavior in certain animals, in which the animal rolls its own body into a ball, presenting only the hardest parts of its integument (the animal's "armor"), or its spines to predators.

Contents

Among mammals, vertebrates like pangolins (Manidae) and hedgehogs (Erinaceidae) exhibit the ability to conglobate. [1] Armadillos in the genus Tolypeutes (South American three-banded armadillos) are able to roll into a defensive ball; however the nine-banded armadillo and other species have too many plates. [2]

Earthworms may volvate during periods of extreme heat or drought.

Among pill millipedes, volvation is both a protection against external threats and against dehydration. [3]

Woodlice or pillbugs (Armadillidae) curl themselves into "pills" not only for defense, but also to conserve moisture while resting or sleeping, because they must keep their pseudotrachaea ("gills") wet. Volvation is particularly well evolved in subterranean isopods, but only Caecosphaeroma burgundum is able to roll up into a hermetic sphere without any outward projections, and thus "approaches perfection in volvation". [4]

Multi-shelled chitons also volvate, although evidence suggests that they do not use this behavior as an anti-predatory defense but rather as a form of locomotion. [1]

In vertebrates, an animal's decision to volvate is mediated by the periaqueductal gray region. [5]

See also

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<i>Glomeris marginata</i> Species of millipede

Glomeris marginata is a common European species of pill millipede. It is a short millipede, rounded in cross-section, which is capable of rolling itself up into a ball ("volvation") when disturbed. This behaviour is also found in the pill woodlouse Armadillidium, with which G. marginata is often confused.

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Dasypus is the only extant genus in the family Dasypodidae. Its species are known as long-nosed or naked-tailed armadillos. They are found in South, Central, and North America, as well as on the Caribbean islands of Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago. Members of Dasypus are solitary and primarily nocturnal to avoid temperature extremes and predation. They exist in numerous habitats ranging from brush to grassland areas and are mainly insectivorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glomerida</span> Order of millipedes

Glomerida is an order of pill-millipedes found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. Also known as northern pill millipedes, they superficially resemble pill-bugs or woodlice, and can enroll into a protective ball. They have twelve body segments, 17 to 19 pairs of legs, and males have enlarged rear legs involved in mating. The order includes about 30 genera and at least 280 species, including Glomeris marginata, the common European pill-millipede. The order contains members in Europe, South-east Asia and the Americas from California to Guatemala. Although historically considered closely related with the similar sphaerotheriidans that also enroll, some DNA evidence suggest they may be more closely related to glomeridesmidans, a poorly known order that does not enroll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlouse</span> Crustacean from the polyphyletic suborder Oniscidea

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphaerotheriida</span> Order of millipedes

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<i>Smutsia</i> Genus of mammals

African ground pangolin is a genus of pangolins from subfamily Smutsiinae within family Manidae. It was formerly considered a subgenus of genus Manis. Its members are the more terrestrial of the African pangolins. In past, this genus was also present in Europe.

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References

  1. 1 2 Sigwart JD, Vermeij GJ, Hoyer P (October 2019). "Why do chitons curl into a ball?". Biology Letters. 15 (10): 20190429. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0429. PMC   6832185 . PMID   31573429.
  2. "VOLVATION : Définition de VOLVATION" (in French). National Centre for Textual and Lexical Resources  [ fr ]. Retrieved April 24, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link).
  3. Gobat JM, Aragno M, Matthey W (2010). Le sol vivant : bases de pédologie, biologie des sols (in French). Vol. 14 de Gérer l'environnement. PPUR Presses polytechniques. p. 817. ISBN   9782880747183 . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  4. Marvillet C (1976). "Les adaptations à la volvation du squelette externe de la tête chez Caecosphaeroma burgundum Dollfus, Crustacé Isopode des eaux souterraines". International Journal of Speleology. 8 (4): 331–358. doi: 10.5038/1827-806X.8.4.3 . Retrieved April 22, 2020. (Article has English abstract.)
  5. Feinberg TE, Mallatt JM (2018). Consciousness Demystified. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 50–51. ...the affective region called the periaqueductal gray signals the motor panic actions of fleeting, curling one's body into a ball for protection, sweating, and so on.