The lateral line system of teleost fishes consists of an array of superficial and canal neuromasts (CN). Number and distribution of neuromasts and the morphology of the lateral line canals vary across species. We investigated the morphology of the lateral line system in four diurnal European cyprinids, the limnophilic bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus), the indifferent gudgeon (Gobio gobio), and ide (Leuciscus idus), and the rheophilic minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus). All fish had lateral line canals on head and trunk. The total number of both, CN and superficial neuromasts (SN), was comparable in minnow and ide but was greater than in gudgeon and bitterling. The ratio of SNs to CNs for the head was comparable in minnow and bitterling but was greater in gudgeon and ide. The SN-to-CN ratio for the trunk was greatest in bitterling. Polarization of hair cells in CNs was in the direction of the canal. Polarization of hair cells in SNs depended on body area. In cephalic SNs, hair cell polarization was dorso-ventral or rostro-caudal. In trunk SNs, it was rostro-caudal on lateral line scales and dorso-ventral on other trunk scales. On the caudal fin, hair cell polarization was rostro-caudal. The data show that, in the four species studied here, number, distribution, and orientation of CNs and SNs cannot be unequivocally related to habitat.
Keywords: fish; hair cell; neuromast; peripheral filter; water flow.
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