Rostral organ

The rostral organ of the coelacanth or similar in many other fish such as Anchovy is a large gel-filled cavity in the snout, with three pairs of canals to the outside.^[1]

It is surrounded by an insulating layer of adipose tissue and innervated by the superficial ophthalmic nerve. Its anatomy and innervation suggest it is an electroreceptive organ^[2] used for finding prey in the dark. This is supported by experiments which showed that coelacanths react to electrical fields produced by a submersible.^[2]

References

^ M., Berquist, Rachel; L., Galinsky, Vitaly; M., Kajiura, Stephen; R., Frank, Lawrence (2015). "The coelacanth rostral organ is a unique low-resolution electro-detector that facilitates the feeding strike". Scientific Reports. 5: 8962. Bibcode:2015NatSR...5.8962B. doi:10.1038/srep08962. PMC 4355723. PMID 25758410.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b Bemis, William E.; Hetherington, Thomas E. (1982). "The Rostal Organ of Latimeria chalumnae: Morphological Evidence of an Electroreceptive Function". Copeia. 1982 (2): 467–71. doi:10.2307/1444635. JSTOR 1444635.

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[1] M., Berquist, Rachel; L., Galinsky, Vitaly; M., Kajiura, Stephen; R., Frank, Lawrence (2015). "The coelacanth rostral organ is a unique low-resolution electro-detector that facilitates the feeding strike". Scientific Reports. 5: 8962. Bibcode:2015NatSR...5.8962B. doi:10.1038/srep08962. PMC 4355723. PMID 25758410.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[:0-2] Bemis, William E.; Hetherington, Thomas E. (1982). "The Rostal Organ of Latimeria chalumnae: Morphological Evidence of an Electroreceptive Function". Copeia. 1982 (2): 467–71. doi:10.2307/1444635. JSTOR 1444635.

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