FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 71, NO. 



Figure 3. — Distribution of mucous 

 secreting cells at sides and base of 

 the mucosal ridges of protrusible lip 

 in cunner ( X 250, x.s.). a, acido- 

 philic mucous secreting cell; m, baso- 

 philic mucous secreting cell; mc, 

 mucosal layer; Sm, submucosa. 



the ridges are deepest in the region of the 

 teeth where the mucosa may be over 10 cells 

 thick. Elsewhere, the mucosa is four to six 

 cells thick, except for the sublingual area and 

 the lateral side of the buccal cavity where a 

 thickness of only one or two cells may prevail. 

 The lateral mucosa of the pharyngeal cavity 

 (the internal epithelium of the opercle) is one 

 cell thick and is entirely constructed of mucous 

 secreting cells attached to the opercle by a thin 

 layer of connective tissue (Figure 4). The ridges 

 or mucosal folds are more prominent on the 

 midlines of the roof and floor of the pre- 



pharyngeal regions. There are no ridges on the 

 surface of the sublingual cavity. The submucosa 

 is a layer of fibrous connective tissue under 

 the mucosa. It is continuous throughout this 

 region, and the thickness is closely correlated 

 with the depth of the mucosal folds. 



Taste buds occur from the inside of the lips 

 to the pharyngeal teeth (Figures 3 and 5) and 

 occasionally are found on the gill arches. No 

 taste buds were observed on the external side 

 of lips, anterior sublingual cavity, or the lateral 

 wall of the i)haryngeal region. The aggregation 

 of taste buds is closely related to the papillae 





Figure 4. — Lateral mucosa of the 

 pharygeal cavity (P) entirely covered 

 with mucous secreting cells in cunner 

 (X 250, X.S.). a, acidophilic mucous 

 secreting cells; c, connective tissue; 

 m, basophilic mucous secreting cell; 

 o, opercle. 



m 



568 



