A. Intermolt cuticle cross-section parallel to neurite canal, c, path showing a Ca:P composition canal wall. A thin green calcite layer colored by Ca alone. A blue nipple area at the cuticle-epidermis interface has Ca:P of 3.5. The exocuticle trabeculae, t, have Ca:P of 7. B. A tangentially polished section of intermolt exocuticle just under the calcite layer shows Ca (green) intrusions of calcite, P (blue) and Cl (red). Purplish trabeculae, t, with Ca:P of 7 are separated by fields of amorphous calcium carbonate seen as greenish since it combines Ca with Cl. Deeper red areas indicate Cl-rich spaces surrounding the dermal and neurite canals from the background cuticle layers.
Figure 5. Tangental polished cuticle surface showing organule canal sectioned perpendicular to its long axis illustrating a calcite collar devoid of phosphate and carbonate-apatite lining of the canal.
