The arterial system of Palaemonetes

Abstract Color changes in Palaemonetes had been found to be inhibited in the whole abdomen by occluding the dorsal abdominal artery. Inasmuch as these chromatic responses are brought about by means of circulating hormones, it should be possible, in view of early anatomical findings, for specific substances to reach the abdomen by way of the ventral abdominal artery which has been described for so many decapod crustaceans. This paper reports a degenerate ventral abdominal artery and a ventral continuation of the dorsal abdominal artery, the latter thus being distributed to practically the entire abdomen and therefore chiefly responsible for abdominal color‐change phenomena. A method is given for injecting the arteries of small crustaceans, and the entire arterial system of Palaemonetes is described and figured. Several hitherto unreported vascular structures are noted: a plexus of blood vessels surrounding the supra‐oesophageal ganglion, certain branches of the ophthalmic artery leading to the eyes, and various branches of the dorsal abdominal artery in the region of the telson and uropods. The forward flow of blood in the ventral portion of the abdomen in decapod crustaceans is held to be unique.