New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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The otoliths of a chimaera, the New Zealand elephant fish Callorhynchus milii

R. W. GAULDIE¹

K. MULLIGAN¹

R. K. THOMPSON²

¹Fisheries Research Centre Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries P. O. Box 297 Wellington, New Zealand

²Electron Microscope Unit Victoria University of Wellington Private Bag Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract The elephant fish Callorhynchus milii (Holocephalidae) has a pair of well-developed otoliths corresponding (in relative position) to the astericus and sagitta in teleosts. Although the elephant fish apparently lacks a lapillus, there are a well-developed set of cristae at the base of the semicircular canals. The cristae presumably serve the same balance function as the lapillus. The semicircular canal system also contains a well-developed ductus endolymphaticus, filled with irregular calcium carbonate otoconia. A different type of oto-conia are found fused together to form the two otoliths. This latter type of otoconia, a crenellated spherulite, is similar to those found aggregated in the otolith of the lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri, and found as loose otoconia in association with the sagitta in some species of teleosts.

Keywords otoliths; otoconia; ductus endolymphaticus; elephant fish; Callorhynchus milii; Holocephalidae

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1987, Vol. 21 0028-8330/87/2102-0275$2.50/0 © Crown copyright 1987 Received 15 April 1986; accepted 28 November 1986

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (2167K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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