Lingual salt glands inCrocodylus acutus andC. johnstoni and their absence fromAlligator mississipiensis andCaiman crocodilus

Taplin, L. E.; Grigg, Gordon C.; Harlow, Peter S.; Ellis, T. M.; Dunson, William A.

doi:10.1007/bf00735713

Cited by 83 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…ISOs are restricted to the bony and soft tissue head regions of Alligatoridae species (Figure 9(A)), and are present on all body scalation of the Crocodylidae and Gavialidae (Figure 9(B)), with the possible exception of the mid-ventral caudal scalation that makes contact with the ground. Similarly, salt glands are also found on the tongue of Crocodylidae but not on the Alligatoridae (Grigg et al 1980;Taplin et al 1981;Cramp et al 2008).…”

Section: Integumentary Sense Organs (Isos)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Crocodilian behaviour: a window to dinosaur behaviour?

Brazaitis

Watanabe

2011

Historical Biology

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Section: Integumentary Sense Organs (Isos)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Crocodilian behaviour: a window to dinosaur behaviour?

Brazaitis

Watanabe

2011

Historical Biology

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“…Sea snakes, however, have sublingual salt glands, which open into the oral cavity (Dunson and Taub, 1967). In crocodiles, the salt-excreting glands are located on the tongue immediately below the lingual epithelium and are responsible for the excretion of sodium and chloride ions (Taplin and Grigg, 1981;Taplin et al, 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional and morphological plasticity of crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) salt glands

Cramp

Meyer

Sparks

et al. 2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYThe estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, inhabits both freshwater and hypersaline waterways and maintains ionic homeostasis by excreting excess sodium and chloride ions via lingual salt glands. In the present study, we sought to investigate the phenotypic plasticity, both morphological and functional, in the lingual salt glands of the estuarine crocodile associated with chronic exposure to freshwater (FW) and saltwater (SW) environments. Examination of haematological parameters indicated that there were no long-term disruptions to ionic homeostasis with prolonged exposure to SW. Maximal secretory rates from the salt glands of SW-acclimated animals (100.8±14.7·mol·100·g ). There were no differences in the mass-specific metabolic rate of salt gland tissue slices from FW-and SW-acclimated animals (558.9±49.6 and 527.3±142.8·l·O 2 ·g -1 ·h -1 , respectively). Stimulation of the tissue slices from SW-acclimated animals by methacholine resulted in a 33% increase in oxygen consumption rate. There was no significant increase in the metabolic rate of tissues from FW-acclimated animals in response to methacholine. Morphologically, the secretory cells from the salt glands of SW-acclimated animals were larger than those of FW-acclimated animals. In addition, there were significantly more mitochondria per unit volume in secretory tissue from SW-acclimated animals. The results from this study demonstrate that the salt glands of C. porosus are phenotypically plastic, both morphologically and functionally and acclimate to changes in environmental salinity.

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“…This result agree with that done by Chen et al [3] who examined the lingual glands of the Chinese alligator, Alligator sinensis, and reported that they were either simple tubular or complex acinotubular in nature and appeared in the posterior two third of the tongue and functioned as salt secreting glands as well as serving to lubricate food. In species of Alligatorinae, many more pores are present with 100 being reported in A. sinensis by Chen et al [3] and 200 or more in A. mississippiensis [52]. The structure of the lingual glands observed in the Nile crocodile is similar to that described in C. porosus, despite the difference in classification of the glands as "branched coiled tubular" (C. niloticus in present study) or "compound tubular glands" (C. porossus) [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%