Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T02:49:56.205Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Morphology and function of the mandibular muscles in some coleoid cephalopods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2019

Amanda J. Kear
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB9 2TN and Marine Biological Association, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB.

Abstract

The functional morphology of the buccal mass of 23 species of cephalopod (Octopoda, 4 species; Teuthoidea, 17; Sepioidea, 2) was investigated by gross dissection, histology and observations on fresh preparations. Cephalopod beaks lack a joint or articulation point. The jaws slide and rotate around an area rather than a fixed point. During closing the superior mandibular muscle (SMM) provides the force of a bite and the largest movement vector, whilst the inferior mandibular muscle (IMM) acts to retract the upper beak, causing shearing action. Dorsal portions of the lateral mandibular muscles (LMM) flex the upper beak walls outwards, probably to accommodate the backwards sweep of the radula and buccal palps during closing. To open the beaks, the ventral portions of the lateral mandibular muscles pull the rear lateral walls of the two beaks towards each other, moving the lower beak back relative to the upper.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews, P.L.R. & Tansey, E.M., 1983. The digestive tract of Octopus vulgaris: the anatomy, physiology and pharmacology of the upper tract. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 63, 109134.Google Scholar
Bidder, A.M., 1950. The digestive mechanism of the European squids Loligo vulgaris, Loligo forbesi. Alloteuthis media, and Alloteuthis subulata . Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 91, 143.Google Scholar
Boyle, P.R., Mangold, K. & Froesch, D., 1979a. The mandibular movements of Octopus vulgaris . Journal of Zoology, 188, 5367.Google Scholar
Boyle, P.R., Mangold, K. & Froesch, D., 1979b. The organisation of beak movements in Octopus . Malacologia, 18, 423430.Google Scholar
Bradbury, H.E. & Aldrich, F.A., 1969. Observations on feeding of the squid lllex illecebrosus illecebrosus (Lesueur, 1821) in captivity. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 47, 913915.Google Scholar
Brown, E.R., Bone, Q., Ryan, K.P. & Abbott, N.J., 1991. Morphology and electrical properties of Schwann cells around the giant axon of the squids Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris . Proceedings of the Royal Society (B), 243, 255262.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.R., 1962. The identification of cephalopod ‘beaks’ and the relationship between beak size and total body weight. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Zoology), 8, 421480.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.R., 1986. A handbook for the identification of cephalopod beaks. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Dilly, P.N. & Nixon, M., 1976. The cells that secrete the beaks in octopods and squids (Mollusca, Cephalopoda). Cell and Tissue Research, 167, 229241.Google Scholar
Duval, P., Chichery, M.-P. & Chichery, R., 1984. Prey capture by the cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis): an experimental study of two strategies. Behavioural Processes, 9, 1321.Google Scholar
Gabe, M. & Prenant, M., 1957. Recherches sur la gaine radulaire des Mollusques. VI. L'appareil radulaire de quelques Cephalopodes. Annales des Sciences Naturelles (Zoologie), Paris, Series 11, 19, 587602.Google Scholar
Heinrich, H., 1904. Uber den Schlundkopf einiger dibranchiaten Cephalopoden. Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaften, 77, 140.Google Scholar
Hirtle, R., 1978. Observations on feeding and grooming behaviour of captive squid lllex illecebrosus (Lesueur 1821). Technical Report. Fisheries and Marine Service, Canada, 833, 13.1–13.5.Google Scholar
Kier, W.M., 1982. The functional morphology of the musculature of squid (Loliginidae) arms and tentacles. Journal of Morphology, 172, 179192.Google Scholar
Lauder, G.V., 1983. Food capture. In Fish biomechanics (ed. Webb, P.W. and Weihs, D.), pp. 280311. New York: Praeger Publishers.Google Scholar
Messenger, J.B., Nixon, M. & Ryan, K.P., 1985. Magnesium chloride as an anaesthetic for cephalopods. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 82C, 203205.Google Scholar
Morton, N. & Nixon, M., 1987. Size and function of ammonite aptychi in comparison with buccal masses of modern cephalopods. Lethaia, 20, 231238.Google Scholar
Nesis, K.N., 1987. Cephalopods of the world. New Jersey: TFH Publications Inc.Google Scholar
Nixon, M., 1968. Feeding mechanism and growth in Octopus vulgaris. PhD thesis, University of London.Google Scholar
Nixon, M., 1979. Hole-boring in shells by Octopus vulgaris Cuvier in the Mediterranean. Malacologia, 18, 431443.Google Scholar
Nixon, M., 1985. Capture of prey, diet and feeding of Sepia officinalis and Octopus vulgaris (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) from hatching to adult. Vie et Milieu, 35, 255261.Google Scholar
Nixon, M., 1988a. The buccal mass of fossil and Recent Cephalopoda. In The Mollusca. Vol. 12. Palaeontology and neontology of cephalopods (ed. Clarke, M.R. and Trueman, E.R.), pp. 103122. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Nixon, M., 1988b. The feeding mechanisms and diets of cephalopods – living and fossil. In Cephalopods – present and past (ed. Wiedmann, J. and Kullmann, J.), pp. 641652. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.Google Scholar
Nixon, M. & Dilly, P.N., 1977. Sucker surfaces and prey capture. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, 38, 447511.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G.W. & Cochran, W.G., 1980. Statistical methods (7th ed.). Iowa State UP.Google Scholar
Tanabe, K. & Fukuda, Y., 1987. Mouth part histology and morphology. In Nautilus: the biology and palaeobiology of a living fossil (ed. Saunders, W.B. and Landman, N.H.), pp. 313322. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Williams, L.W., 1909. The anatomy of the common squid, Loligo pealii, Lesueur . New York: American Museum of Natural History Press.Google Scholar
Young, J.Z., 1965a. The buccal nervous system of Octopus . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (B), 249, 2743.Google Scholar
Young, J.Z., 1965b. The nervous pathways for poisoning, eating and learning in Octopus . Journal of Experimental Biology, 43, 581593.Google Scholar
Young, J.Z., 1971. The anatomy of the nervous system of Octopus vulgaris. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Young, R.E., 1964. The anatomy of the vampire squid. MSc thesis, University of Southern California.Google Scholar