Electroreceptors and Other Specialized Receptors in Lower Vertrebrates (Handbook of Sensory Physiology, 3 / 3)

The originality of this volume is to reveal to the reader the fascination of some unfamiliar sensory organs that are sometimes ignored and often misunderstood. These receptors have only recently been identified and their functional specificity is in some cases still a matter for discussion. The four classes of sensory organs considered here differ widely from one another in many respects. One might even say that the only thing they have in common is that they belong to cold-blooded vertebrates. These classes are: 1. the directionally sensitive lateral-line mechanoreceptors of fishes and amphi­ bians (Chapter 7); 2. the pseudobranchial organs of some teleosts, equipped with pressoreceptors and at least three other types of receptors (osmo- and chemoreceptors) (Chapter 8); 3. the infrared-sensitive pit organs of some snake families (Chapter 9) ; 4. the various kinds of electroreceptors found in several marine and freshwater fish families (Chapters 2 to 6). The first three classes of receptors mentioned above thus rate only one chapter each, whereas five chapters are devoted to the electroreceptors. Electroreception has aroused enormous interest among physiologists in specialties ranging from molecular biology to animal behavior. The resulting quantity of research and discussion fully justifies this disproportion. However, it cannot be denied that the contents of the volume must appear unbalanced and heterogeneous, yet it should not be perceived as a mere juxtaposition of particular and unrelated cases. Front Matter....Pages i-viii General Introduction....Pages 1-12 Anatomy of the Specialized Lateral Line Organs of Electroreception....Pages 13-58 Physiology of Electroreceptors....Pages 59-124 The Ampullae of Lorenzini....Pages 125-146 The Detection of Electric Fields from Inanimate and Animate Sources Other Than Electric Organs....Pages 147-200 The Detection of Electric Fields from Electric Organs....Pages 201-256 Lateral-Line Mechano-Receptors in Fishes and Amphibians....Pages 257-278 Pseudobranchial Receptors in Teleosts....Pages 279-296 Thermoreception in Snakes....Pages 297-312 Back Matter....Pages 313-335