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American Zoologist 1977 17(2):365-377; doi:10.1093/icb/17.2.365
© 1977 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
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Osmoregulation in Elasmobranchs

PETER K. T. PANG1, ROBERT W. GRIFFITH2 and JAMES W. ATZ3
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Texas Tech University Health Science Centers Lubbock, Texas 79409
2Department of Biology, Southeastern Massachusetts University North Dartmouth,Massachusetts 02747
3Department of Ichthyology, The American Museum of Natural History New York,New York,10024

Osmoregulatory mechanisms were examined in major groups of fishes including hagfish, holocephalans, elasmobranchs, the coelacanth, and ray-fin fishes. Four main patterns of body fluid composition emerged. These represent the three main osmoregulatory processes in the marine environment and the one in fresh water. Some possible interrelationships among these four types are discussed. Urea retention in marine elasmobranchs and the coelacanth, although similar, may have been acquired independently during evolution. The importance of gills and the rectal gland in elasmobranch osmoregulation is discussed. The importance of amino acids in intracellular osmoregulation in elasmobranchs is also reviewed. Recent studies on water and electrolyte regulation in freshwater stingrays are summarized.


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