Summary
The caudal part of the lugworm Arenicola marina shows numerous epidermal papillae formed by a thick glandular epidermis in which ciliated sensory buds have been found. These buds comprise supporting cells and two types of receptors, R1 and R2, which are primary sensory cells whose axons are connected to the basiepidermal nerve plexus. The receptors possess several typical cilia projecting into the surrounding seawater, stout intracuticular microvilli filled with filaments, and they contain dense vesicles. The R1 cells, more numerous, show features of chemosensory cells. The rarer R2 cells have large striated rootlets surrounded by a dense sheath of fibrillar material and are probably mechanoreceptors. The physiological functions of these receptors are discussed.
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Jouin, C., Tchernigovtzeff, C., Baucher, M.F. et al. Fine structure of probable mechano- and chemoreceptors in the caudal epidermis of the lugworm Arenicola marina (Annelida, Polychaeta). Zoomorphology 105, 76–82 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00312141
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00312141