STRUCTURAL-CHANGES IN THE HEPATOPANCREAS OF THE ROCK LOBSTER, JASUS-EDWARDSII (CRUSTACEA, PALINURIDAE) DURING DEVELOPMENT FROM THE PUERULUSTO POST-PUERULUS
S. Nishida et al., STRUCTURAL-CHANGES IN THE HEPATOPANCREAS OF THE ROCK LOBSTER, JASUS-EDWARDSII (CRUSTACEA, PALINURIDAE) DURING DEVELOPMENT FROM THE PUERULUSTO POST-PUERULUS, Marine Biology, 123(4), 1995, pp. 837-844
There is evidence for non-feeding in pueruli of palinurid lobsters dur
ing their long-distance swim to the coast and the succeeding post-sett
lement phase until they molt to the juveniles. For a better understand
ing of the nutritional supply during the puerulus stage, structural ch
anges in the hepatopancreas were studied in post-settlement pueruli an
d first-molt, post-pueruli of the rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii, colle
cted on the southeast coast of the North Island, New Zealand between 1
989 and 1990. In newly settled (transparent) pueruli, the epithelium o
f the hepatopancreas is dominated by presumed ''young R-(resorptive) c
ells'', which are devoid of lipid droplets, but show active uptake of
material from the hemolymph through pinocytosis at the basal region. I
n the fully pigmented puerulus, the hepatopancreas is dominated by R-c
ells containing massive lipid droplets; also present are small numbers
of F-(fibrillar) and B-(blister-like) cells. This increase of lipid i
nclusion in the R-cells corresponds to the reduction in size of the fa
t bodies as the lobster develops from the transparent to the pigmented
puerulus. After the molt to the post-puerulus, the R-cells are compre
ssed, and the lipid droplets almost disappear, while the B-cells incre
ase both in size and number.