THE ROLE OF MELANOPHORE-STIMULATING HORMONE IN MELANOGENESIS IN THE DOGFISH, SCYLIORHINUS CANICULA L.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Melanophore-stimulating hormone (MSH) has a well-documented role in the physiological colour change response of elasmobranchs (Waring, 1963). In amphibians and teleosts, however, a second function in the control of overall pigmentation, by effecting melanogenesis, has been observed. Long-term administration of MSH, or prolonged maintenance on an illuminated black background, causes an increase in both the number of melanophores and the melanin content of the skin (Odiorne, 1948, 1957; Waring, 1963; Novales, 1967; Fujii, 1969). Two observations indicate a similar role for MSH in the elasmobranch fishes. Fawcett (1939) reported an albino foetus of Squalus acanthias in which the MSH-secreting neurointermediate lobe (NIL) was absent and Chevins & Dodd (1970) noted ventral pigmentation developing de novo in two specimens of Raia clavata which survived hypothalamic lesioning, causing uninhibited MSH release, for 34 weeks. However, no quantitative observations concerning melanogenesis in the elasmobranchs have been published to indicate the scale of these

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: