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Anat Rec (Hoboken)

Title:		Gross and histological morphology of the cervical gill slit gland of the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps)
Author(s):		Keenan TF; McLellan WA; Rommel SA; Costidis AM; Harms CA; Thewissen J; Rotstein DS; Gay MD; Potter CW; Taylor AR; Wang Y; Pabst DA;
Address:		"Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, North Carolina State University, Morehead City, North Carolina. Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio. Marine Mammal Pathology Services, Olney, Maryland. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA. University of North Carolina Wilmington, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Wilmington, North Carolina"
Journal Title:		Anat Rec (Hoboken)
Year:		2022
Volume:		20210720
Issue:		3
Page Number:		688 - 703
DOI:		10.1002/ar.24707
ISSN/ISBN:		1932-8494 (Electronic) 1932-8486 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Odontocete cetaceans have undergone profound modifications to their integument and sensory systems and are generally thought to lack specialized exocrine glands that in terrestrial mammals function to produce chemical signals (Thewissen & Nummela, 2008). Keenan-Bateman et al. (2016, 2018), though, introduced an enigmatic exocrine gland, associated with the false gill slit pigmentation pattern in Kogia breviceps. These authors provided a preliminary description of this cervical gill slit gland in their helminthological studies of the parasitic nematode, Crassicauda magna. This study offers the first detailed gross and histological description of this gland and reports upon key differences between immature and mature individuals. Investigation reveals it is a complex, compound tubuloalveolar gland with a well-defined duct that leads to a large, and expandable central chamber, which in turn leads to two caudally projecting diverticula. All regions of the gland contain branched tubular and alveolar secretory regions, although most are found in the caudal diverticula, where the secretory process is holocrine. The gland lies between slips of cutaneous muscle, and is innervated by lamellar corpuscles, resembling Pacinian's corpuscles, suggesting that its secretory product may be actively expressed into the environment. Mature K. breviceps display larger gland size, and increased functional activity in glandular tissues, as compared to immature individuals. These results demonstrate that the cervical gill slit gland of K. breviceps shares morphological features of the specialized, chemical signaling, exocrine glands of terrestrial members of the Cetartiodactyla"
Keywords:		Animals Exocrine Glands *Gills *Whales/anatomy & histology cetacean chemical communication gland integument semiochemical;
Notes:		"MedlineKeenan, Tiffany F McLellan, William A Rommel, Sentiel A Costidis, Alexander M Harms, Craig A Thewissen, 'Hans' Jgm Rotstein, David S Gay, Mark D Potter, Charles W Taylor, Alison R Wang, Ying Pabst, D Ann eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2021/07/22 Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2022 Mar; 305(3):688-703. doi: 10.1002/ar.24707. Epub 2021 Jul 20"