A Morphological Study on the Melanophores of Two Mormyrid Fish, Marcusenius isidori and M. longianalis

Abstract

A morphological investigation was done on the epidermal and dermal melanophores of two mormyrid fish, Marcusenius isidori and M. longianalis.
The epidermal meleanophores were located in the outer and middle layers of the epidermis as well as in the inner layer. The dermal melanophores occurred just beneath the basal lamina and in the deeper part of the dermis. The dermal melanophores of M. longianalis had sometimes elongated melanosomes as well as ovoid-shaped ones. The premelanosomes of the epidermal melanophores had a doughnut-like inner structure in addition to a striped inner structure. The melanophores of Marcusenius isidori and M. longianalis possess the basic characteristics common to other vertebrates, and they resemble closely those of other mormyrid fish, Gnathonemus petersii, and other fish.