The Lateral Line System of Hagfishes (Craniata: Myxinoidea)

The morphology of the peripheral lateral line system in Eptatretus stoutii is described using a combination of electron microscopical, histological and immunocytochemical techniques. The epidermis and cranial nerves of Myxine glutinosa were also examined for evidence of a lateral line system. Together with results previously published by other researchers, we conclude that most or all eptatretid hagfish possess a lateral line system composed of shallow trenches, or grooves, lined with a single class of flask-shaped receptive cells. No species of myxinid hagfish has been shown to possess any component of this system. Three groups of lateral line grooves are present in eptatretids: preoptic, dorsal postoptic, and ventral postoptic groups. The preoptic grooves are innervated by a single pair of ganglionated cranial nerves and the two postoptic series of grooves are innervated by a pair of cranial nerves which each possess two ganglia, possibly as a result of fusion of two pairs of ganglionated nerves. Morphometric analysis indicates that these grooves continue to grow throughout life and that the variability in the distribution of grooves between animals may result from developmental instability in lateral line ontogeny. The morphology of the receptive organs is compared to neuromasts of the vertebrate lateral line system and ciliated receptor cells of other chordates. The morphology of hagfish lateral line receptors may represent the primitive condition for craniate lateral line organs, or more likely, they are highly derived as a result of regressive evolution. © 1997 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.