Distribution and morphology of the ampullary organs of the salmontail catfish,
            <i>Arius graeffei</i>

Whitehead, Darryl L.; Tibbetts, Ian R.; Daddow, L.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199901)239:1<97::aid-jmor7>3.0.co;2-#

Cited by 17 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Canal length varies signi cantly in the electroreceptors of saltwater and freshwater vertebrates and is thought to be an adaptation for increasing sensitivity (Bennett, 1971;Szabo et al, 1972;Kalmijn, 1974;Whitehead et al, 1999Whitehead et al, , 2003. The long canals of elasmobranchs enable low frequency electric elds to be virtually unattenuated due to the high resistance of the canal walls and the low resistance of the jelly core.…”

Section: Localising Prey In Saltwater and Freshwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The canals of the ampullary organs in P. anguillaris measure in cms and the ampullae include hundreds of receptor cells. Whitehead et al (1999Whitehead et al ( , 2000 described three morphological types of ampullary organs in the estuarine cat sh, Arius graeffei. These three forms may represent adaptations for changes in habitat (freshwater, estuarine and marine) during the sh's lifecycle.…”

Section: Localising Prey In Saltwater and Freshwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ampullary receptors are broadly tuned to low frequency elds (<0.1-25 Hz), while tuberous receptors are tuned to higher frequency elds from 50 Hz to over 2 kHz (New, 1997). Thought to be a primitive vertebrate character, the ability to detect weak electric elds in shes has thus far been found in agnathans (lampreys but not hag shes, Bullock et al, 1983), chondrichthyans (sharks, skates, rays and chimeras, Bullock et al, 1983;Bodznick and Boord, 1986;Fields et al, 1993;New and Tricas, 1997), cladistians (bichirs, Jørgensen, 1982), chondrosteans (sturgeons and paddle sh, Teeter et al, 1980;Northcutt, 1986) and a small number of species within the osteoglossomorph (knife shes, Braford, 1982;Bullock and Northcutt, 1982;Carr and Maler, 1986;Zakon, 1988) and three orders of teleosts; mormyrids (African electric shes, Lissmann, 1958;Bell and Szabo, 1986), gymnotids (South American electric shes, Lissmann, 1958;Carr and Maler, 1986;Zakon, 1988), and siluriform (cat sh, Parker and van Heusen, 1917;Roth, 1968;Finger, 1986;Whitehead et al, 1999Whitehead et al, , 2003 groups of shes ( g. 1). Electroreception has also been found within the sister group of the actinopterygian shes, the Sarcopterygii, which comprises the dipnoan lungshes (Northcutt, 1986;Watt et al, 1999) and the actinistian coelacanth (Bemis and Hetherington, 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The functional roles of passive electroreception in non-electric fishes

Collin¹,

Whitehead²

2004

Animal Biol

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Passive electroreception is a complex and specialised sense found in a large range of aquatic vertebrates primarily designed for the detection of weak bioelectric elds. Particular attention has traditionally focused on cartilaginous shes, but a range of teleost and non-teleost shes from a diversity of habitats have also been examined. As more species are investigated, it has become apparent that the role of electroreception in shes is not restricted to locating prey, but is utilised in other complex behaviours. This paper presents the various functional roles of passive electroreception in non-electric shes, by reviewing much of the recent research on the detection of prey in the context of differences in species' habitat (shallow water, deep-sea, freshwater and saltwater). A special case study on the distribution and neural groupings of ampullary organs in the omnihaline bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, is also presented and reveals that prey-capture, rather than navigation, may be an important determinant of pore distribution. The discrimination between potential predators and conspeci cs and the role of bioelectric stimuli in social behaviour is discussed, as is the ability to migrate over short or long distances in order to locate environmentally favourable conditions. The various theories proposed regarding the importance and mediation of geomagnetic orientation by either an electroreceptive and/or a magnetite-based sensory system receives particular attention. The importance of electroreception to many species is emphasised by highlighting what still remains to be investigated, especially with respect to the physical, biochemical and neural properties of the ampullary organs and the signals that give rise to the large range of observed behaviours.

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Section: Localising Prey In Saltwater and Freshwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Localising Prey In Saltwater and Freshwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The functional roles of passive electroreception in non-electric fishes

Collin¹,

Whitehead²

2004

Animal Biol

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“…Small (1 mm 3 ) skin samples that appeared to possess am-pullary pores were dissected out and processed in a Lynx x Tissue Processor using methods previously described (Whitehead et al, 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Freshwater fish possess skin with high resistance, which assists in osmoregulation (Kalmijn, 1974(Kalmijn, , 1984Zakon, 1986;Whitehead et al, 1999). Inner body tissues have a lower resistance and electrical signals within these inner tissues spread uniformly throughout the body.…”

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confidence: 99%

Ampullary organ morphology of freshwater salmontail catfish,Arius graeffei

2000

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Two types of ampullary organs are present in the skin of the freshwater salmontail catfish, Arius graeffei, each consisting of a short canal (0.2–0.5 mm) oriented perpendicular to the basement membrane and ending in an ampulla. Histochemical staining techniques (Alcian blue and Lillie's allochrome) indicate that the ampullary canals contain an acidic mucopolysaccharide gel, which is uniform in its staining properties along the canals. Type II ampullary organs consist of a canal, the wall of which is lined with cuboidal epithelial cells. The canal opens into an ampulla with 50–60 receptor cells. Electron microscopy reveals that the pear‐shaped receptor cells bear microvilli on their luminal surface and lie adjacent to an unmyelinated neuron. Type III ampullary organs differ from Type II in that the canal wall consists of cells that possess a protein‐rich sac at the luminal apex and have a polymorphic nucleus. The canals of Type III ampullary organs open to an ampulla with 8–30 receptor cells similar in both staining properties and structure to those of the Type II organ. In both types of ampullary organs, supportive cells surround each receptor cell except at the apex of the receptor cell. J. Morphol. 246:142–149, 2000 © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Ampullary organ morphology of freshwater salmontail catfish, Arius graeffei

Whitehead¹,

Tibbetts²,

Daddow³

2000

J. Morphol.

Self Cite

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Two types of ampullary organs are present in the skin of the freshwater salmontail catfish, Arius graeffei, each consisting of a short canal (0.2-0.5 mm) oriented perpendicular to the basement membrane and ending in an ampulla. Histochemical staining techniques (Alcian blue and Lillie's allochrome) indicate that the ampullary canals contain an acidic mucopolysaccharide gel, which is uniform in its staining properties along the canals. Type II ampullary organs consist of a canal, the wall of which is lined with cuboidal epithelial cells. The canal opens into an ampulla with 50-60 receptor cells. Electron microscopy reveals that the pear-shaped receptor cells bear microvilli on their luminal surface and lie adjacent to an unmyelinated neuron. Type III ampullary organs differ from Type II in that the canal wall consists of cells that possess a protein-rich sac at the luminal apex and have a polymorphic nucleus. The canals of Type III ampullary organs open to an ampulla with 8-30 receptor cells similar in both staining properties and structure to those of the Type II organ. In both types of ampullary organs, supportive cells surround each receptor cell except at the apex of the receptor cell.

show abstract

Distribution and morphology of the ampullary organs of the salmontail catfish, Arius graeffei

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

The functional roles of passive electroreception in non-electric fishes

The functional roles of passive electroreception in non-electric fishes

Ampullary organ morphology of freshwater salmontail catfish,Arius graeffei

Ampullary organ morphology of freshwater salmontail catfish, Arius graeffei

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