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New discovery: Plaice fish are spotted (on the inside)

Date:
February 22, 2010
Source:
University of Gothenburg
Summary:
Have you seen a spotted plaice? Probably. Marine biologists have now studied the spotted insides of plaice.
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Have you seen a spotted plaice? Probably. However, marine biologist Helen Nilsson Sköld at the University of Gothenburg is the first person to research the spotted insides of plaice.

Many species of animal have skin or fur with intricate pigmentation patterns, which they use for camouflage, communication, regulation of body heat and protection against the sun. A study conducted by researchers at the Department of Marine Ecology at the University of Gothenburg has found that several species of fish also have highly-coloured internal pigmentation.

Adapts to its surroundings

In a study published in Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, marine biologist Helen Nilsson Sköld and her colleagues show that the number of internal pigment cells has a direct link to the degree of transparency of the fish. Transparent fish can change colour using their internal pigment cells, thus enhancing external skin pigmentation and their ability to adapt to the background colours of their surroundings.

Bewildering display of colour

Mysteriously, plaice also have a high number of internal pigment cells in, for instance, the ear and brain and around their internal organs. Plaice however are not particularly transparent. The internal pigment cells of this fish cannot be seen easily from the outside, which makes its internal display of colour somewhat bewildering.

Unknown functions

According to Helen Nilsson Sköld and her colleagues, the fact that less transparent fish also have this internal pigmentation indicates that the pigment cells may have other, as yet unknown, functions.

"We believe that the internal pigment cells either function as vessels for excess pigment or perhaps provide various forms of protection or contribute to the immune system. We hope to investigate this subject further," says Helen Nilsson Sköld.


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Materials provided by University of Gothenburg. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

University of Gothenburg. "New discovery: Plaice fish are spotted (on the inside)." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 February 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222104953.htm>.
University of Gothenburg. (2010, February 22). New discovery: Plaice fish are spotted (on the inside). ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222104953.htm
University of Gothenburg. "New discovery: Plaice fish are spotted (on the inside)." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222104953.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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