[Taxacom] sensillum-sensilla-sensillae

[John Noyes]

Dear taxacomers,

 

Does anyone out there know anything of the origin/derivation of the term
"sensilla" as used in insects to describe sensory organs on the antenna,
legs, etc. I have been trying to determine which latin declension it
should follow. To my knowledge the term was first coined in the mid to
late 19th century, possibly by J.O. Westwood, but I cannot trace it. My
reason for asking is that it would be nice to iron out the problem of
what really should be the singular and plural forms of the noun. I
remember a colleague of mine trying to trace it and came to the
conclusion that it could be either sensillum/sensilla or
sensilla/sensillae (singular/plural) because the person who first used
the term used only sensilla without stating whether this was singular or
plural.

 

In the literature both forms are used with the majority opting for
sensillum/sensilla whilst the minority (including myself because I was
brought up on it) use sensilla/sensillae.

 

Any help or thoughts appreciated.

 

John

 

John Noyes

Scientific Associate

Department of Entomology

Natural History Museum

Cromwell Road

South Kensington

London SW7 5BD 

UK

jsn at nhm.ac.uk

Tel.: +44 (0) 207 942 5594

Fax.: +44 (0) 207 942 5229

 

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