Taste buds on the lips and mouth of some blenniid and gobiid fishes: comparative distribution and morphology

Abstract

Analysis of taste buds (TB) on the lips and oropharyngeal cavity in several species of gobies (Gobiidae) and blennies (Blenniidae) from the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Seychelles, revealed three types of these organs: types I and II, which protrude above the surrounding epithelium on lobules of various forms, and type III, which terminate on the level of the epithelium. These TB are composed of either light or dark sensory cells with apical microvillar extensions, and of basal cells situated at the TB base. Synaptic junctions occur between the TB cells and the sub-epithelial sensory nerves. Numerical distribution and morphology of TB on the lips and in the oral cavity of the species studied revealed patterns that are specific on both species and family levels. In most of the gobies the lips, jaws and oral breathing valves are usually covered by numerous lobules, each of which bears papillae with two to seven type I and type II TB, reaching a total of up to 7500 buds on the lips and in the oropharyngeal cavity in these fishes. The number of TB increases with growth (age) of the fish, and the combined and total sensory area of TB in an adult fish can reach up to 80 000 mm 2 . In contrast, in blennies the anterior region of the oral cavity is seldom lobulated, with far fewer TB; the majority of TB are found in the more posterior region. It is postulated that these differences in TB density and location between gobies and blennies are connected to differences in foraging strategies and diet, and may represent ecomorphological adaptations. # 2004 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

Development of seahorse (Hippocampus reidi, Ginsburg 1933): histological and histochemical study

“…The high prey selectivity described in newborn (Hilomen-García et al 2003) is due not only to the size and the energy consumption of the catch (Celino et al 2012;Hora and Joyeux 2009), but principally to the presence of numerous taste buds observed in this study. As it has been described in other species, the number of taste buds of specimens studied increased with larval development (Fishelson and Delarea 2004;Hansen et al 2002) and consequently also increased the (Govoni et al 1986;Storero and González 2009).…”

Comparison of the oropharyngeal cavity in the Starksiini (Teleostei: Blenniiformes: Labrisomidae): Taste buds and teeth, including a comparison with closely‐related genera

“…During the last two decades most published studies on TBs have focused on the barbels of individual species of fishes (see Tagliafierro and Zaccone,2001). Fewer studies have compared TBs in groups of closely related species (Livingstone,1987; Boudriot and Reutter,2001; Fishelson,2005a, b; Fishelson and Delarea,2004; Fishelson et al,2004, 2010). For the Starksiini tribe of blenniiform fishes ( sensu Wiley and Johnson,2010), TB data have been presented for only one species, Starksia lepicoelia (Fishelson,2009).…”

A taste of the deep-sea: The roles of gustatory and tactile searching behaviour in the grenadier fish Coryphaenoides armatus

“…From the small amount of data available in this study it appears that these grenadiers have around 450 mm -2 taste buds in the barbel skin, which is in the same range as in cod and other shallow-water gadids (Harvey and Batty, 2002). The level of taste system development in fishes has previously been linked to the degree of benthic association of the fish, and the light level and water clarity of its habitat (Fishelson and Delarea, 2004;Franz-Odendaal and Hall, 2006;Harvey and Batty, 2002). Coryphaenoides armatus has barbel taste bud densities similar to ecologically similar fish in the relatively well-lit surface waters, giving no evidence for the sort of increased taste sensitivity seen in comparative studies between light-and dark-living cave fish populations (Franz-Odendaal and Hall, 2006).…”