Description of the mechanoreceptive lateral line and electroreceptive ampullary systems in the freshwater whipray, Himantura dalyensis

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doi:10.1071/MF10156

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Description of the mechanoreceptive lateral line and electroreceptive ampullary systems in the freshwater whipray, Himantura dalyensis

Teagan A. Marzullo ^A ^D , Barbara E. Wueringer ^A , Lyle Squire Jnr ^B and Shaun P. Collin ^A ^C

^A Sensory Neurobiology Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
^B Cairns Marine, Stratford, Qld 4870, Australia.
^C School of Animal Biology and the UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
^D Corresponding author. Email: teagan.marzullo@uqconnect.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 62(6) 771-779 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF10156
Submitted: 18 June 2010 Accepted: 17 January 2011 Published: 24 June 2011





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Abstract

Mechanoreceptive and electroreceptive anatomical specialisations in freshwater elasmobranch fishes are largely unknown. The freshwater whipray, Himantura dalyensis, is one of a few Australian elasmobranch species that occur in low salinity (oligohaline) environments. The distribution and morphology of the mechanoreceptive lateral line and the electroreceptive ampullae of Lorenzini were investigated by dissection and compared with previous studies on related species. The distribution of the pit organs resembles that of a marine ray, Dasyatis sabina, although their orientation differs. The lateral line canals of H. dalyensis are distributed similarly compared with two marine relatives, H. gerrardi and D. sabina. However, convolutions of the ventral canals and proliferations of the infraorbital canal are more extensive in H. dalyensis than H. gerrardi. The intricate nature of the ventral, non-pored canals suggests a mechanotactile function, as previously demonstrated in D. sabina. The ampullary system of H. dalyensis is not typical of an obligate freshwater elasmobranch (i.e. H. signifer), and its morphology and pore distribution resembles those of marine dasyatids. These results suggest that H. dalyensis is euryhaline, with sensory systems adapted similarly to those described in marine and estuarine species.

Additional keywords: ampullae of Lorenzini, Himantura polylepis, mechanosensory lateral line, pit organs.

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