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Fine structure of the eyes of an alciopid polychaete, Vanadis tagensis (Annelida)

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Summary

The fine structure of the pair of large and complex cerebral ocelli of Vanadis tagensis is described. The primary retina with its component photoreceptoral and supportive cells can be divided into four principal layers. Beginning from the basal lamina encapsulating the eye, these are the plexiform, nuclear, pigmented, and receptoral layers. Each photoreceptor consists of an array of densely packed microvilli 6 μm in diameter projecting radially from a cylindrical photoreceptoral process extending about 80 μm into the optic cavity in. the center of the ocellus. A large striated rootlet, 0.5 μm in diameter, and numerous microtubules extend the length of the process. A basal body, without a cilium, has been observed at the tip of the striated rootlet. Long straight microvilli from the supportive cells extend the length of the photoreceptoral processes between the microvilli of adjacent photoreceptors. The shading pigment of the pigmented layer is located in both types of cells. Nuclei of the supportive cells are closer to the pigmented layer and one seventh as numerous as those of the photoreceptoral cells. The supportive cells are irregular in shape and packed with filaments ending in large desmosomes along the proximal border of the pigmented layer.

Opposite the primary retina a pigmented iris surrounds the pupil, except on one side where a small group of cells, the secondary retina, is situated. Between the primary and secondary retinas is the apex of a large secretory cell whose cell body lies between the plexiform layer of the primary retina and the basal lamina. The large, spherical, compact lens occupies but does not fill the optic cavity. The true structure of the material in the remainder of the optic cavity has not been determined.

These eyes are compared to the descriptions of the cerebral ocelli of cephalopods, onychophorans, and phyllodocidan polychaetes.

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Abbreviations

b:

brain

bb:

basal body

bl:

basal lamina

c:

cornea

ca:

capillary

cu:

cuticle

d:

desmosome

f:

filaments

fx:

fixed part of secretory cell

e:

epidermis

i:

iris

im:

iris cell microvilli

l:

lens

m:

mitochondria

mt:

microtubule

DI:

nuclear layer

oc:

optic cavity

on:

optic nerve

p:

photoreceptoral cell

pf:

poorly fixed region in secretory cell

pg:

pigment granule

pgl:

pigmented layer

pl:

plexiform layer

pm:

photoreceptoral microvilli

pn:

photoreceptor cell nucleus

pr:

primary retina

r:

striated rootlet

rer:

rough endoplasmic reticulum

rl:

receptorallayer

s:

supportive cell

se:

secretory cell

scn:

secretory cell nucleus

ser:

smooth endoplasmic reticulum

sj:

septate junction

sm:

supportive cell microvilli

sn:

supportive cell nucleus

sr:

secondary retina

tw:

terminal web

v:

membrane-bounded vesicle

x:

shrinkage artifact?

za:

zonula adhaerens

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, California State College, 94928, Sonoma, Rohnert Park, California, USA

    Colin O. Hermans

  2. Department of Zoology, University of California, 94720, Berkeley, California

    Richard M. Eakin

Authors
  1. Colin O. Hermans
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  2. Richard M. Eakin
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Additional information

Supported by U.S. Public Health Service Research Grant GM 10292.

The authors thank Mrs. Emily Reid for making the drawings used in this paper, Dr. A. O. D. Willows for space provided at the Friday Harbor Laboratories of the University of Washington, and the Hopkins Marine Laboratory of Stanford University for the use of the R. V. Tage.

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Hermans, C.O., Eakin, R.M. Fine structure of the eyes of an alciopid polychaete, Vanadis tagensis (Annelida). Z. Morph. Tiere 79, 245–267 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00277508

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00277508

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