Abstract
Experimentally, the specialized electrogenerative activity is discovered in two representatives of the family Uranoscopidae (Uranoscopus bicinctus and U. affinis) living in the coastal zone of Nha Trang Bay of the South China Sea (Vietnam). For the first time, the electric discharges of duration up to 100 ms are recorded in U. bicinctus and up to 300 ms in U. affinis. The discharges are monopolar oscillations of the potential with electronegativity in the area of the fish head. Distribution of potentials on the body surface of the stargazer was investigated. It is shown that the electric field during the discharge has dipole characteristics and the zone of the “null” equipotential is situated in the area of the soft dorsal fin. Electrophysiological experiments, using the method of microelectrode stimulation of different regions of the brain, demonstrated that stable electric discharges are caused by stimulation of the medial zone of the bottom of the fourth ventricle in medulla oblongata. The discharges caused in such way are fully analogous to those generated spontaneously and under mechanical stimulation of the skin. Thus, the conclusion could be made on localization of the stargazer’s electromotor center in this zone.
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Baron, V.D. Electric discharges of two species of stargazers from the South China Sea (Uranoscopidae, Perciformes). J. Ichthyol. 49, 1065–1072 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945209110058
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945209110058