The rostral organ of the coelacanth is a large gel-filled cavity in the snout, with three pairs of canals to the outside.
It is surrounded by an insulating layer of adipose tissue and innervated by the superficial ophthalmic nerve. Its anatomy and innervation suggest it is an electroreceptive organ used for finding prey in the dark. This is supported by experiments which showed that coelacanths react to electrical fields produced by a submersible.
This organ is not known in any other animal other than the anchovy.
Famous quotes containing the word organ:
“But alas! I never could keep a promise. I do not blame myself for this weakness, because the fault must lie in my physical organization. It is likely that such a very liberal amount of space was given to the organ which enables me to make promises, that the organ which should enable me to keep them was crowded out. But I grieve not. I like no half-way things. I had rather have one faculty nobly developed than two faculties of mere ordinary capacity.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)