In the majority of bony fish, or teleosts, motor nerve cells for fins are discovered on the sides (ventrolateral zone) of the underside (forward horn) of the spine. The motor nerve cells managing the illicium of frogfish remain in their own cluster and situated in the dorsolateral zone. In fish, this is uncommon.

“The strange place of fishing motor nerve cells, with little doubt, is related to the expertise of the illicium serving fishing habits,” the group stated in a research study just recently released in the Journal of Comparative Neurology.

Fishing for responses

What does this have to do with development? The white-spotted pygmy filefish may look absolutely nothing like a frogfish and has no integrated fishing lure, however it is still an associated types and can perhaps inform us something.

While the very first dorsal fin of the filefish does not truly move– it is believed that its primary function is to frighten predators by looking enormous– there are still motor nerve cells that manage it. Motor nerve cells for the very first dorsal fin of filefish were discovered in the very same place as motor nerve cells for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th dorsal fins in frogfish. In frogfish, these fins likewise do stagnate much while swimming, however can appear threatening to a predator.

If the exact same kinds of motor nerve cells manage non-moving fins in both types, the frogfish has something additional when it pertains to the function and area of motor nerve cells managing the illicium.

Yamamoto believes the special group of fishing motor nerve cells discovered in frogfish recommends that, as an outcome of development, “the motor nerve cells for the illicium [became] segregated from other motor nerve cells” to wind up in their own unique cluster far from motor nerve cells managing other fins, as he stated in the research study.

Exactly what triggered the practical and locational shift of motor nerve cells that provide the frogfish’s illicium its function is still a secret. How the brain affects their fishing habits is another location that requires to be examined.

While Yamamoto and his group hypothesize that particular areas of the brain send out messages to the fishing motor nerve cells, they do not yet understand which areas are included, and state that more research studies require to be performed on other types of fish and the groups of motor nerve cells that power each of their dorsal fins.

In the meantime, the frogfish will continue being its freaky self.

Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2024. DOI: 10.1002/ cne.25674