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Luminescence in polynoids III. Propagation of excitation through the nerve cord

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. A. C. Nicol
J. A. C. Nicol
Affiliation:
The Plymouth Laboratory
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Extract

Luminescent polynoids emit light from their elytra. These structures are arranged in two longitudinal rows covering most or all of the dorsal surface of the worm. Light emission is evoked by stimulation and appears as a single flash or series of flashes (Nicol, 1953, 1957).

When a polynoid is subjected to tactile stimulation, scales anterior and posterior to the stimulated region emit flashes. The response is a reflex, the excitatory pathways of which involve peripheral receptors, nerve cord, and a peripheral ganglion in each elytrum on the efferent side of the arc (Bonhomme, 1942; Nicol, 1954).

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , June 1957 , pp. 271 - 273
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1957

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References

Bonhomme, C., 1942. Recherches sur l'histologie de l'appareil lumineux des Polynoinés. Bull. Inst. océanogr., Monaco, No. 823.Google Scholar
Harvey, E. N., 1952. Bioluminescence. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kutschera, F., 1909. Die Leuchtorgane von Acholoe astericola Clprd. Zeit wiss. Zool., Bd. 92, pp. 75–102.Google Scholar
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Nicol, J. A. C., 1954. The nervous control of luminescent responses in polynoid worms. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 33, pp. 225–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicol, J. A. C., 1957. Luminescence in polynoids. II. Different modes of response in the elytra. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., Vol. 36, pp. 261–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar