Characterization of the primary sonic muscles inCarapus acus(Carapidae): a multidisciplinary approach

Abstract

Sound production in carapid fishes results from the action of extrinsic muscles that insert into the swim bladder. Biochemical, histochemical and morphological techniques were used to examine the sonic muscles and compare them with epaxial muscles in Carapus acus. Sonic fibres are thicker than red and thinner than white epaxial fibres, and sonic fibres and myofibrils exhibit an unusual helicoidal organization: the myofibrils of the centre are in a straight line whereas they are more and more twisted towards the periphery. Sonic muscles have both features of red (numerous mitochondria, high glycogen content) and white (alkali-stable ATPase) fibres. They differ also in the isoforms of the light chain (LC3) and heavy chain (HC), in having T tubules at both the Z-line and the A-I junction and in a unique parvalbumin isoform (PAI) that may aid relaxation. All these features lead to the expression of two assumptions about sound generation: the sonic muscle should be able to perform fast and powerful contractions that provoke the forward movement of the forepart of the swim bladder and the stretching and "flapping" of the swim bladder fenestra; the helicoidal organization allows progressive drawing of the swim bladder fenestra which emits a sound when rapidly released in a spring-like manner.

A superfast muscle in the complex sonic apparatus of Ophidion rochei (Ophidiiformes): histological and physiological approaches

“…In Carapus acus (Carapidae), Parmentier et al (Parmentier et al, 2006a) demonstrated that sonic muscles inserting on the swimbladder can also produce sounds at very low contraction rates (sonic muscle tetanized between 10 and 20 Hz). This example, however, involves important specializations of the sonic muscle and swimbladder: the sonic muscle has a hook that is attached to a small tubercle of the swimbladder wall at rest (Parmentier et al, 2006a), and muscle fibers and myofibrils have a unique helical disposition (Parmentier et al, 2003). Here, sound frequency is not determined by the contraction rate of the sonic muscle (Parmentier et al, 2006a).…”

Preliminary Study of the Sonic Muscle of Micropogonias furnieri (Actinopterygii, Sciaenidae): Morfología e Histoquímica

“…The sound organ of M. furnieri, just like that of other members of the family Sciaenidae, Cynoscion regalis and Kathala axillaris (Connaughton et al, 1997;Veerappan et al, 2009), or members of other families like Carapidae, Carapus acus (Parmentier et al, 2003), consists of a swim bladder and a pair of extrinsic muscles.…”

New insights into sound production in <I>Carapus mourlani</I> (Carapidae)

“…This air sac has an anterior thinner zone of its wall called the swim bladder fenestra. This is situated just under the swim bladder plate, which is an osseous enlargement of the third epineural (Parmentier et al 2003a(Parmentier et al , 2006b). During muscle contraction, the thinner zone allows the rostral displacement of the most anterior part of the swim bladder only and the stretching of the swim bladder fenestra (Parmentier et al 2003a(Parmentier et al , 2006b.…”

“…Parasite species feed on the internal tissues of their host, mainly the gonads (Arnold 1956, Trott 1970, Parmentier and Das 2004, Parmentier and Michel 2013. Another interesting aspect of this group of fishes is their ability to produce sounds (Parmentier et al 2003a,b, 2008, Kéver et al 2014. In captivity, series of pulsed sounds have been recorded for Carapus boraborensis (Kaup, 1856), Carapus homei (Richardson, 1846), and Encheliophis gracilis (Bleeker, 1856), only after an individual had entered a sea cucumber that was already occupied by a conspecific or a heterospecific organism (Parmentier et al 2003b, Lagardère et al 2005).…”