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Article: Functional significance of the co-localization of taste buds and teeth in the pharyngeal jaws of the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides.
- Article from:
- The Biological Bulletin
- Article date:
- December 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Marine Biological Laboratory. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
Live fish are a major food item in the diet of the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Howick and O'Brien, 1983). Although this species is primarily a visual feeder (McMahon and Holanov, 1995), gustation apparently plays a role in the ultimate acceptance (Kubitza and Lovshin, 1997) or rejection (Kruse and Stone, 1984) of potential food items.
Taste cells present in multicellular taste buds are the major functional units in the gustatory sense of all vertebrates including teleosts (e.g., Roper, 1989; Reutter and Witt, 1993). In fishes, taste buds occur not only within the oral and pharyngeal cavities, but also on external structures such ...