Summary
The pericardium in Lepidopleurus asellus (Spengler), Tonicella marmorea (Fabricius), T. rubra L., Ischnochiton albus L., and Calleochiton laevis (Montagu), species taxonomically far apart, is described. It consists of a flat, simple epithelium facing the pericardial cavity, a basement membrane, a muscle layer with two types of muscle fibres, nerve processes, glio-interstitial cells, and fibrocytes, embedded in a loose collagen matrix. The epithelium in L. asellus and I. albus have convoluted lateral cell borders, and in L. asellus very long basal cell processes are seen. Type 1 muscle fibres resemble smooth molluscan muscle. Type 2 muscle fibres resemble cardiac muscle fibres in chitons. Nerve processes associated with glio-interstitial cells and cell processes, run free in the matrix. Synapses in type 1 fibres are covered with glio-interstitial cell processes, lacking in type 2 muscle fibres synapses.
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This work was supported by grants from the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities
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Økland, S. Ultrastructure of the pericardium in chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora), in relation to filtration and contraction mechanisms. Zoomorphology 97, 193–203 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310276
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310276