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Morphological studies of the spinal cord in tetraodontiformes fishes
Author(s) -
Uehara Masato,
Ueshima Toshihiko
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.1051900309
Subject(s) - filum terminale , spinal cord , biology , cauda equina , anatomy , cord , body plan , fish <actinopterygii> , trunk , embryo , neuroscience , fishery , ecology , medicine , surgery
The spinal cord of two tetraodontiform fishes, the Japanese file fish ( Navodon modestus ) and the panther puffer ( Takifugu pardalis ), are unusual among vertebrates in having a markedly abbreviated spinal cord with a long and flattened filum terminale. Only the rostral short part of the cord of both species is cylindrical; the greater part of the cord is markedly flat. The majority of the spinal nerve roots leave the short cylindrical part. The flattened part of the cord contains the central canal, myelinated nerve fibers, and a few motoneurons surrounding the cauda equina, and it is histologically similar to the filum terminale of amphibians and mammals. The spinal cords of other teleosts, the sun‐fish and angler, also are abbreviated and possess a filum terminale and cauda equina. These orders possess an enormous head and short trunk. However, the correlation between this body form and an abbreviated cord is not causal, since the tetraodontiform species described here show ordinary body proportions. The spinal cord may be abbreviated in tetraodontiform fishes in general.