Figure 9. The organ of Bellonci.

(A–B’) Frontal histological sections of the anterior region of the brain, showing conspicuous onion body-structures from which a nerve tract emanates (A,B), and which are seemingly closely associated to the cerebral vascular system (B’) and contain elements of granular appearance (B’), white arrowhead). The section’s positions are sketched in the bottom left corners. (C) Anterodorsolateral overview of the cephalothorax from micro-CT scan. Asterisks indicate the position where the organ of Bellonci nerve connects to the cuticle beneath the anterior region of the ocular plate. (C’) shows a 3D reconstruction of the brain and the organ of Bellonci nerve in this region. White arrow points towards anterior of the body axis. Scale bars = 100 µm. Abbreviations: see text and appendix 1.