The telson and uropods collectively form the tail fan, playing crucial roles in locomotion, buoyancy, defense, and respiration. We aimed to compare telson and uropod structures in three shrimp species—, , and —to identify the species with the most robust telson for its environment. Our analysis involved morphological measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), supplemented by a novel approach—Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, a technique not previously utilized in studies on these three species. exhibited the longest telson length, whereas had the longest uropod. featured a single pair of fixed spines, while had evenly spaced small conical spines along the sides of the median elevation and groove. A distinctive feature of was the telson, which had three pairs of large spines. Diverse setae on telsons included simple, unipennate, and plumose setae. Notably, specialized branched tubular setae on uropods' endopods may aid in grooming or swimming behavior. EDX spectroscopy revealed that the telson cuticle primarily consists of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, with significantly high concentrations alongside comparatively lower calcium and phosphorous concentrations. exhibited the highest calcium and phosphorus content among the three species. In conclusion, telson is structurally robust, emphasizing the importance of morphology, while demonstrated a hard telson through EDX analysis. Our study underscores not solely relying on morphology for telson strength assessment but considering telson composition. These variations among species may be attributed to diverse ecological and physiological adaptations.

中文翻译：

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使用扫描电子显微镜和 EDX 分析对小沟对虾 (Olivier, 1811)、半沟对虾 (De Haan, 1844) 和新对虾 (Nobili, 1904) 尾肢和尾足进行比较形态学分析

尾节和尾足共同形成尾扇，在运动、浮力、防御和呼吸中发挥着至关重要的作用。我们的目的是比较三种虾的尾节和尾足结构——、、和——以确定具有最适合其环境的尾节的物种。我们的分析涉及形态测量和扫描电子显微镜 (SEM)，并辅以一种新方法——能量色散 X 射线 (EDX) 光谱，这是一种以前未在这三个物种的研究中使用的技术。表现出最长的尾节长度，而具有最长的尾足。其特点是有一对固定的刺，而沿着中间高度和凹槽的侧面有均匀分布的小圆锥形刺。其一个显着特征是尾节，它有三对大刺。尾节上的刚毛多种多样，包括单羽状刚毛、单羽状刚毛和羽状刚毛。值得注意的是，尾足动物内足上的专门分枝管状刚毛可能有助于梳理毛发或游泳行为。 EDX 光谱显示，尾节角质层主要由碳、氮和氧组成，其浓度非常高，而钙和磷浓度相对较低。三个物种中钙、磷含量最高。总之，尾节结构坚固，强调形态的重要性，同时通过 EDX 分析证明了尾节的硬性。我们的研究强调不仅依靠形态来评估尾节强度，还考虑尾节组成。物种之间的这些差异可能归因于不同的生态和生理适应。