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Journal of Experimental Biology 156,387-398 (1991)
Published by Company of Biologists 1991

Ontogeny of Heart Function in the Little Skate Raja Erinacea

BERND PELSTER ¹ and WILLIAM E. BEMIS ¹

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

The development of the cardiovascular system has been analysed in embryos of the little skate, Raja erinacea, ranging in age from 27 to 144 days after spawning. Circulation starts at the end of the first month. At that time, the heart is S-shaped, there is no differentiation between ventricle and conus arteriosus and no valve formation is detectable. Complete differentiation of the central circulatory system and its valves was observed at about 40 days after spawning, although there are changes in proportion that occur before hatching.

In the smallest embryos used for physiological studies, 27 days post-spawning (0.01–0.03g body mass), circulation of blood was observed and heart rate was 35–40 beats min^-1. Heart rate increased with development, reaching a maximum of 65–68 beats min^-1 at a body mass of 0.2 g (60 days post-spawning) and then slowly decreased until just prior to hatching.

Ventricular diastolic pressure remained below 0.1 kPa throughout development whereas ventricular systolic pressure increased significantly with increasing body mass. In small embryos (<0.05 g) the conus arteriosus collapsed at the end of each heart beat, completely occluding its lumen and separating the ventral aorta from the diastolic heart. In larger animals (>0.1g) serial flap valves in the conus separated the ventral aorta from the diastolic ventricle, and the conus supported ventral arterial blood pressure because of its elastic properties.

Note:

Present address: Institut für Physiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-4630 Bochum, Germany.

Key words: circulation, blood pressure, ontogeny, embryo, elasmobranchs, raja erinacea

Accepted on October 13, 1990

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