ArticleScientific reports2020
Histological evidence for secretory bioluminescence from pectoral pockets of the American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis).
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- A shot in the dark: Comparative morphology of the bioluminescent tube organs in tubeshoulders (Platytroctidae).PloS one · 2026Article
- Ancient Secretory Pathways Contributed to the Evolutionary Origin of an Ecologically Impactful Bioluminescence System.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
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Abstract
The function of pocket shark pectoral pockets has puzzled scientists over decades. Here, we show that the pockets of the American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis) contain a brightly fluorescent stratified cubic epithelium enclosed in a pigmented sheath and in close contact with the basal cartilage of the pectoral fins; cells of this epithelium display a centripetal gradient in size and a centrifuge gradient in fluorescence. These results strongly support the idea that pocket shark's pockets are exocrine holocrine glands capable of discharging a bioluminescent fluid, potentially upon a given movement of the pectoral fin. Such capability has been reported in many other marine organisms and is typically used as a close-range defensive trick. In situ observations would be required to confirm this hypothesis.
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