THE TORUS LONGITUDINALIS IN THE GILTHEAD SEABREAM - AN UNDESCRIBED FIBER TRACT LINK WITH THE VALVULA CEREBELLI

In this paper, we present a brief anatomical description of the torus longitudinalis and the valvula cerebelli in a percomorph fish, the gil thead seabream (Sparus aurata) based on the analysis of serial brain s ections stained by paraldehyde fuchsin, Great's hematoxylin-picroindig ocarmin and cresyl violet. The existence of a small undescribed fiber tract directly bridging the ventral torus longitudinalis and the granu lar layer of the rostral valvula cerebelli is also reported. This smal l fiber tract was observed in its integrity on a few transverse sectio ns providing that the angle of sectioning was appropriate. The existen ce of the anatomical link between the TL and the VC described in this paper might sustain the role of the TL as part of an ascending cerebel lo-tectal circuit, at least in gilthead seabream. However, these fiber s might also represent fibers of passage originating from other brain structures.