Histological evidence for secretory bioluminescence from pectoral pockets of the American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis)
(2020) RAU Scientific Reports — Vol. 10, n° 1, p. 18762 (2020)
Files
s41598-020-75656-81.pdf
Open Access - Adobe PDF
- 1.27 MB
Details
- Authors
Delroisse, Jérôme 
Grace, Mark A. Doosey, Michael H.
- Abstract
- The function of pocket shark pectoral pockets has puzzled scientists over decades. Here, we show that the pockets of the American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis) contain a brightly fluorescent stratified cubic epithelium enclosed in a pigmented sheath and in close contact with the basal cartilage of the pectoral fins; cells of this epithelium display a centripetal gradient in size and a centrifuge gradient in fluorescence. These results strongly support the idea that pocket shark’s pockets are exocrine holocrine glands capable of discharging a bioluminescent fluid, potentially upon a given movement of the pectoral fin. Such capability has been reported in many other marine organisms and is typically used as a close-range defensive trick. In situ observations would be required to confirm this hypothesis.
- Affiliations
Citations
Claes, J., Delroisse, J., Grace, M. A., Doosey, M. H., Duchatelet, L., & Mallefet, J. (2020). Histological evidence for secretory bioluminescence from pectoral pockets of the American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis). RAU Scientific Reports, 10(1), 18762. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75656-8 (Original work published 2020)