ISSN:
1095-8649
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Serrasalmids of the genus Mylossoma are obligate gill-breathers that are encountered in the floodplain lakes of Amazonia, even when the oxygen concentrations there are below 0.5 mg l−1. It was shown by experiments that fish of these species are capable of utilizing the oxygen-rich surface layer of the water for respiration, in order to survive periods of habitat-induced hypoxia. This so-called aquatic surface respiration entails an increase in locomotory activity and an ecomorphosis involving the formation of a dermal extension on the lower jaw, that apparently has a hydrodynamic function for using the surface layer for gill respiration; when the water is aerated, it retrogresses to its original size. Histological examination showed that the extension is formed by edematous processes in the stratum spongiosum.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1988.tb05356.x
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