When injected arterially, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) has been shown to elicit naturally sized urea pulse events in the gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta. The goal of the present study was to determine which 5-HT receptor(s) was involved in mediating this serotonergic stimulation of the pulsatile excretion mechanism. Toadfish were surgically implanted with caudal arterial catheters and intraperitoneal catheters and injected with either 8-OH-DPAT (1 micro mol kg(-1)), a selective 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist, alpha-methyl-5-HT (1 micro mol kg(-1)), a 5-HT(2) receptor agonist, or ketanserin, a 5-HT(2) receptor antagonist (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 micro mol kg(-1)) plus alpha-methyl-5-HT. 8-OH-DPAT injection did not mediate an increase in urea excretion, ruling out the involvement of 5-HT(1A) receptors in pulsatile excretion. However, within 5 min, alpha-methyl-5-HT injection caused an increase in the excretion of urea in >95% (N=27) of the fish injected, with an average pulse size of 652+/-102 micro mol N kg(-1) (N=26). With alpha-methyl-5-HT injection there was no corresponding increase in ammonia or [(3)H]PEG 4000 permeability. Urea pulses elicited by alpha-methyl-5-HT were inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by the 5-HT(2) receptor antagonist ketanserin, which at low doses caused a significant inhibition of pulse size and at higher doses significantly inhibited the occurrence of pulsatile excretion altogether. However, neither 8-OH-DPAT nor alpha-methyl 5-HT injection had an effect on plasma cortisol or plasma urea concentrations. These findings suggest the involvement of a 5-HT(2)-like receptor in the regulation of pulsatile urea excretion.