The larval attachment organ of the tropical gar Atractosteus tropicus Gill, 1863 (Lepisosteiformes: Lepisosteidae)

Larval attachment organs (LAOs) are unicellular or multicellular organs that allow larvae to adhere to a substrate before yolk‐sac absorption and the free‐swimming stage. This study documents the LAO of tropical gar, Atractosteus tropicus, using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and ligh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish biology 2021-08, Vol.99 (2), p.418-424
Main Authors: Pinion, Amanda K., Siegel, Dustin S., Britz, Ralf, Martínez‐García, Rafael, Álvarez‐González, Carlos A., Conway, Kevin W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adhesion
Atractosteus tropicus
Attachment
Attachment organs
Body organs
Cells
cement gland
Egg yolk
Electron microscopy
Glycoproteins
Hatching
histochemistry
Larvae
Light microscopy
Microscopy
Optical microscopy
Organs
Scanning electron microscopy
Substrates
Swimming
Tropical climate
Vacuoles
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Summary:Larval attachment organs (LAOs) are unicellular or multicellular organs that allow larvae to adhere to a substrate before yolk‐sac absorption and the free‐swimming stage. This study documents the LAO of tropical gar, Atractosteus tropicus, using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. It is shown that the LAO of A. tropicus is a super‐organ surrounded by a wall and containing at its centre many smaller multicellular organ units, each comprised of attachment and support cells. Attachment cells are secretory and house large vacuoles filled with a glycoprotein. At hatching, the super‐organ is well developed and occupies almost the entire anteroventral surface of the head. During subsequent development, the smaller individual units begin to regress, until at 6 days post‐hatching the super‐organ and its individual units are no longer visible.
ISSN:0022-1112
1095-8649
DOI:10.1111/jfb.14733