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Development of sensory organs and changes of behavior in larvae of the sutchi catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus

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Abstract

Larvae of the sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus hatch with morphologically immature features, but sensory organs develop rapidly as the fish grow. By 1 day old, yolk-sac larvae showed notochord flexion, and by 2 days old larvae were observed to have consumed a large part of the yolk sac. At this stage, larvae had well-developed eyes, olfactory organs with ciliated receptor cells, inner ears with semicircular canals, and numerous taste buds, and they commenced ingestion of rotifers, Artemia nauplii, and artificial compound feed. Two-day-old larvae had many free neuromasts on the surface of the head and flanks and clearly showed rheotaxis. By 20 days old, free neuromasts in postflexion larvae had sunk under the skin. At this later stage, larvae swam against a water current and schooled along the side of the fish tank. Rapid development of sensory organs and notochord flexion would be an adaptation for survival in conditions of flowing water, as in the Mekong River. In this study, we show that development of the lateral line in the postflexion stage seems to be closely related to larval behavior, suggesting that these developments could be essential for sutchi catfish larvae survival.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Director of Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation of Universiti Malaysia Sabah for his cooperation in using SEM. This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Grant (FRG 0002-ST-1/2006) of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia and the e-Science Fund (05-01-10-SF0054) of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Malaysia.

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  1. Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Yukinori Mukai, Audrey Daning Tuzan, Sitti Raehanah Muhamad Shaleh & Bernardette Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto

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  1. Yukinori Mukai
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  2. Audrey Daning Tuzan
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  3. Sitti Raehanah Muhamad Shaleh
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  4. Bernardette Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto
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Correspondence to Yukinori Mukai.

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Mukai, Y., Tuzan, A.D., Shaleh, S.R.M. et al. Development of sensory organs and changes of behavior in larvae of the sutchi catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus . Fish Sci 76, 921–930 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-010-0290-y

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