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Morphology of yolk and pericardial sacs in lecithotrophic and matrotrophic nutrition in poeciliid fishes
Author(s) -
Ponce de León José Luis,
Uribe Mari Carmen
Publication year - 2021
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.21355
Subject(s) - biology , marine larval ecology , yolk sac , yolk , anatomy , loricariidae , embryo , blastula , embryogenesis , zoology , larva , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , gastrulation , catfish
We used histological techniques to describe the morphology of the yolk and pericardial sacs in developing embryos of the lecithotrophic species Girardinus creolus , Gambusia puncticulata , Limia vittata , and Quintana atrizona , in comparison with the extreme matrotrophic Heterandria formosa . In lecithotrophic species, the yolk sac was enlarged and lasted until the final stages of development, while in H. formosa it was completely absorbed soon after fertilization. Lecithotrophic poeciliids showed a pericardial sac with a single layer of blood vessels covering the dorsal surface of the cephalic region only, while H. formosa showed a more complex largely vascularized pericardial sac covering the entire dorsal surface, except the caudal region. In advanced gestation of G. creolus , a vascular plexus of the yolk sac reaches the pharyngeal region, behind the gills, suggesting that the pharynx may play a role in embryonic nutrition in lecithotrophic species. These morphological evidences suggest that matrotrophy derives from lecithotrophy.