In most teleosts, or teleosts, fin motor neurons are found on the lateral side (ventral zone) of the lower side (ventral horn) of the spinal cord. The motor neurons that control the frogfish’s intestines are in their own cluster and located in the dorsal zone. This is rare in fish.
“There is little doubt that the unique location of fishing motor neurons is associated with intestinal specializations that serve fishing behavior,” the researchers wrote in their paper. study Recently published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology.
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So what does this have to do with evolution? Filefish may not look much like frogfish and may not have built-in fishing lures, but they are still closely related and may have something to teach us.
Although the filefish’s first dorsal fin doesn’t actually move, and its main purpose is thought to be to frighten away predators, there are still motor neurons that control it. Motor neurons in the filefish’s first dorsal fin were found in the same location as motor neurons in the second, third, and fourth dorsal fins of the frogfish. In the case of frogfish, these fins do not move much while swimming, but they can appear threatening to predators.
If the same type of motor neuron controls the immobile fins in both species, frogfish have something special regarding the function and location of the motor neurons that control the ilium.
Professor Yamamoto believes that the unique group of fishing motor neurons found in frogfish suggests the existence of “irisium motor neurons” as a result of evolution. [became] As he said in his paper, it ends up in its own cluster, “isolated from other motor neurons” and separate from other fin-controlling motor neurons. study.
What exactly causes the functional and positional changes in the motor neurons that give the frogfish ilium its function remains a mystery. How the brain influences their fishing behavior is another area that needs research.
Yamamoto and his team speculate that specific areas of the brain send messages to the fishing motor neurons, but it is not yet known which areas are involved, and it is not known which areas are involved in other species. They say more research needs to be done on fish and motor neuron groups. Neurons that power each dorsal fin.
Meanwhile, the frogfish keep being your weird self.
Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2024. DOI: 10.1002/cne.25674
