A. O. Borisanova, A. V. Chernyshev, V. V. Malakhov - The structure of the body cavity of Kamptozoa, as illustrated by the colonial species Pedicellina cernua (Pallas, 1775) and Barentsia discreta (Busk, 1886)

BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2014, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 435-448

The structure of the body cavity of Kamptozoa, as illustrated by the colonial species Pedicellina cernua (Pallas, 1775) and Barentsia discreta (Busk, 1886)

¹Faculty of Biology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991;
²Laboratory of Biology of Marine Invertebrates, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690014;
³A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041

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The body cavity ultrastructure of two species of colonial Kamptozoa is investigated in detail. The body cavity is separated from all surrounding tissues by a basal lamina, which underlies the ectodermal and endodermal epithelia and covers the excretory system, gonads, muscular cells, and nerves that cross the body cavity. The basal lamina does not cover the body cavity cells, which, in respect to this feature, can be classified as connective-tissue cells proper. Several types of cells were identified in the cavity of the calyx: amoeboid cells, dark spindle-shaped cells, cells containing phagosomes, cells of dorso-ventral bundles, and cells adjacent to the surface of the internal organs (gonads, and digestive and nervous systems). The tubular cells of the stalk and stolon, as well as the amoeboid cells of the stolon are described. The body cavity of Kamptozoa is characterized by a set of features that allow interpreting it as the hemocoel.

Key words: Kamptozoa, body cavity, ultrastructure, basal lamina, cavity cells, hemocoel, Barentsia discreta, Pedicellina cernua.