Abstract
Structural changes occurring in the alimentary tract, perivisceral cavity, foot, hypobranchial gland, and gills of larval and post-larval Solemya reidi, a gutless protobranch bivalve, were examined using both light and electron microscopy at 1, 3, 5, 18, 34 and 42 d after fertilization. A fully developed mouth, esophagus, and anus, together with the rudiments of a stomach and rectum are present before metamorphosis. At metamorphosis, the cells making up the dorsal and lateral walls of the stomach dissociate, and by 18 d the mouth and anus are the only remaining portions of the alimentary tract. The larval test is ingested into the perivisceral cavity at metamorphosis and its autolysis continues through at least the 42nd day after fertilization. The foot, gills, and hypobranchial gland, poorly developed at metamorphosis, develop slowly and are still undergoing extensive morphogenesis at 42 d.
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Communicated by J. M. Lawrence, Tampa
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Contribution No. 601.
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Gustafson, R.G., Reid, R.G.B. Larval and post-larval morphogenesis in the gutless protobranch bivalve Solemya reidi (Cryptodonta: Solemyidae). Mar. Biol. 97, 373–387 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397768
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397768