lKAU: Mar. Sci.• • 01. 8, pp. 177-191 (1417 A .H./1997 A .D .)
Histological Studies on the Bucco-Pharynx of the Milkfish
Chanos chanos (Forskal) from the Red Sea
A .A.A. FARAG, M.T. HASHIM* and O.A.H. ABUZINADAH
Biological Dept., Faculty of Sciences ,
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah , Saudi Arabia;
* National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt
ABSTRACT. The mucosal epithelium of buccal and pharynx cavities of the
milkfish, Chanos chanos is a stratified one, provided with numerous secretory cells and taste buds. The formers become more numerous as one passes
caudally towards the pharynx while the taste buds show a reverse tendancy .
The epithelium lining the epibrarichial organs is greatly similar to that of
pharynx . The lamellar structure, that is in the entrance canal of these organs
can be considered as modified gill filament according to its histological
structure. and the epibranchial organs function principally as accessory to
the digestive system . The vascular's supply to both the core and the mucosa
that covers, the rakers makes us believe that thcy are respiratory gill filaments.
Introduction
The histology of the fore-gut of the teleost fishes has been investigated by several
workers (Vialli, 1926; Ghazzawi, 1935; AI-Hussaini, 1947a,b; Lagler and Kraatz,
1945; Girgis, 1952a,b; Kapoor, 1954a,b; 1957a,b,c & 1958; Al-Hussaini and Kholy,
1953; D'Aubenton, 1955; lara, 1957; Srivastava, 1958; Swarup, 1959; Bertmar,
1961; Miller 1964; Schmitz and Baker, 1969; Johansen, 1970; Khanna and Mehorta,
1971; Eastman, 1971; Bisht, 1972; Ebrahim, 1978). These authors reported that different species with the same type of food may differ in the structure of the fore-gut,
but the functional adaption related to the nature of food and feeding habits remain
similar, although the degree of the relation between that part and the food varies.
References on the subject reveal that although the class Osteichthyes is well represented in the Red Sea at Jeddah area, Saudi Arabia, but the microscopic structure
of the alimentary tract has not received the appropriate attention, therefore the authors have studied in the present investigation one of the economic teleostfishes, the
rnilkfish, Chanos chanos (Forskal) which is known in Saudi Arabia as Samak Salmany.
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