z-logo
open-access-imgOpen Access
Heterogeneity of neuromasts in a fish without lateral line canals: the pufferfish (Takifugu obscurus, Abe, 1949) model
Author(s) -
Chao Li,
Xiaojie Wang,
Jianyong Wu,
Xuguang Zhang,
Chunxin Fan,
Hua-Yang Guo,
Jiakun Song
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of experimental biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.367
H-Index - 185
eISSN - 1477-9145
pISSN - 0022-0949
DOI - 10.1242/jeb.186163
Subject(s) - lateral line , biology , anatomy , zebrafish , gene , biochemistry
Fish detect water motions with their mechanosensory lateral line. The basic functional unit of the lateral line is the neuromast. In most fish species neuromasts are located in lateral line canals (canal neuromasts) or on the skin (superficial neuromasts). In this paper we describe the lateral line system of pufferfish, Takifugu obscurus. If threatened, this fish inflates its body by sucking water into the esophagus. Pufferfish lack a canal system but have neuromasts located directly on the skin or in open grooves. Each groove houses Tall, Medium, and Short Neuromasts, based on the height of their pedestal. One or more Medium neuromasts were always located between two Tall neuromasts, and the Short neuromasts were scattered between them. Tall neuromasts showed phasic responses to water jets, similar to the canal neuromasts of other fish species. In contrast, the Medium and Short neuromasts showed tonic responses to water jets. The response properties of nerve fibers that innervated the latter two types of neuromasts were similar to the response properties of the superficial neuromasts found in other fish species. Our results suggest that each groove of a pufferfish has two functional groups of neuromasts. This may allow pufferfish to extract spatial and temporal hydrodynamic information, despite the changes in body shape that occur during and after inflation. The short neuromasts at the bottom of a groove most likely supplement the medium neuromasts when the body is maximally inflated.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.
Having issues? You can contact us here