Summary
A special vacuolized epidermis is found — unique amongst Gastropoda in the strikingly-coloured group of marine snails: Nudibranchia. The developmental changes and the fine structure of the epidermal cells from hatching until sexual maturity (development without free swimming veliger) has been descibed in the Eolid Trinchesia granosa The present paper deals only with the main cells, i.e. the vacuolar cells of the epidermis, while the less numerous mucoid and pigmentary cells are omitted.
While in the hatching stage the single-layered cells are separated by big intercellular clefts, they are closely interdigitated in the adult. With respect to differences in cell shape, position and structure of the nuclei, the fine structure of the cytoplasm, and the number of vacuoles, two main types of cells can be distinguished. They are characterized as A- and B-cells. A-cells and B-cells, as well as transitional forms can be observed in hatching animals, while in adult animals only A-cells are observed.
The epidermal cells of all developmental stages are characterized by “vacuole-bodies”, special structured ellipsoid bodies, each lying within a vacuole. The cell in the hatching stage contains only few vacuole-bodies, whereas they form an extremely dense layer in the apical part of the adult epidermis. Each vacuole-body consists of an ellipsoid viscous mantle and a dumb-bell shaped cylindrical axis containing a more or less osmiophilic nucleus. The electron microscopic findings indicate — in correlation with observations of the living epidermis — that the vacuole-bodies have absorbtive, filtrative and mechanic functions.
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Mit Unterstützung durch den Schweizerischen Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaften und die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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Schmekel, L., Wechsler, W. Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen über Struktur und Entwicklung der Epidermis von Trinchesia granosa (Gastr. Opisthobranchia). Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 77, 95–114 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336701
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336701