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The nervous system of Bothriomolus balticus (Proseriata) —a contribution to the knowledge of the orthogon in the Plathelminthes

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Summary

The nervous system (NS) of Bothriomolus balticus (Proseriata) was studied by the immunocytochemical (ICC) method with antisera to RFamide, SALMFamide and serotonin and with the histochemical GAIF method. The use of the ICC technique provided a much more precise morphological account of the nervous system than had previously been possible. The obtained data are discussed in connection with the comparative morphology of the nerve cords of the Plathelminthes. A similar position does not grant direct correspondence between nerve cords in the taxon Seriata. Marginal cords had probably an independent origin in the Monocelididae and Otoplanidae. The ventral (main) cords of B. balticus seem to correspond to the lateral (main) cords of the Monocelididae. It can be hypothesized that both: (1) a shift of the main cords accompanied by formation of new cords from the plexus and fusion of other cords and (2) a redistribution of nerve processes and perikarya between the cords, take part in the evolution of cords in the Plathelminthes. The first hypothesis seems to explain the difference in the position of main cords in proseriates, though, the second hypothesis might dominate, for example, in the Neorhabdocoela and the Neodermata. The correctness of the evolutionary analysis of the nerve cords in plathelminths can only be provided by neurons or neuron groups marking these structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institue, Russian Academy of Sciences, V-034, 189034, St Petersburg, Russia

    Boris I. Joffe

  2. Department of Biology, Abo Akademi University, Biocity, Artillerig. 6, SF-20520, Åbo, Finland

    Maria Reuter

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  1. Boris I. Joffe
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  2. Maria Reuter
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Joffe, B.I., Reuter, M. The nervous system of Bothriomolus balticus (Proseriata) —a contribution to the knowledge of the orthogon in the Plathelminthes. Zoomorphology 113, 113–127 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403089

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