Ampullae of Lorenzini

Ampullae of Lorenzini, found in several basal groups of fishes, are jelly-filled canals connecting pores in the skin to sensory bulbs. They detect small differences in electric potential between their two ends.

Ampullae of Lorenzini (sg.: ampulla) are electroreceptors, sense organs able to detect electric fields. They form a network of mucus-filled pores in the skin of cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) and of basal bony fishes such as reedfish,[1] sturgeon,[2] and lungfish.[1] They are associated with and evolved from the mechanosensory lateral line organs of early vertebrates. Most bony fishes and terrestrial vertebrates have lost their ampullae of Lorenzini.

  1. ^ a b Roth A, Tscharntke H (October 1976). "Ultrastructure of the ampullary electroreceptors in lungfish and Brachiopterygii". Cell and Tissue Research. 173 (1): 95–108. doi:10.1007/BF00219268. PMID 991235. S2CID 2431185.
  2. ^ Gibbs MA, Northcutt RG (2004). "Development of the lateral line system in the shovelnose sturgeon". Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 64 (2): 70–84. doi:10.1159/000079117. PMID 15205543. S2CID 24967528.