What do the gill lamellae do in sharks?
In fishes, gill lamellae are used to increase the surface area between the surface area in contact with the environment to maximize gas exchange (both to attain oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide) between the water and the blood. In fish gills there are two types of lamellae, primary and secondary.
What is the function of the gill arch?
Branchial arch, also called Visceral Arch, or Gill Arch, one of the bony or cartilaginous curved bars on either side of the pharynx (throat) that support the gills of fishes and amphibians; also, a corresponding rudimentary ridge in the embryo of higher vertebrates, which in some species may form real but transitory …
How are the lamellae in fish gills adapted?
The rows of gill filaments have many protrusions called gill lamellae. The folds are kept supported and moist by the water that is continually pumped through the mouth and over the gills. Fish also have an efficient transport system within the lamellae which maintains the concentration gradient across the lamellae.
What is the function of the gills of a dogfish shark?
The gill slits close and the pharyngeal chamber expands to suck in water. When the pharynx is filled, the mouth closes and the gill chambers expand and fill with water. Then the gill slits open and the chambers constrict to flush out the water.
Why can’t fish survive out of water?
Though some fish can breathe on land taking oxygen from air, most of the fish, when taken out of water, suffocate and die. This is because gill arches of fish collapse, when taken out of water, leaving the blood vessels no longer exposed to oxygen in air.
What are lamellae in sharks?
The Gill Lamellae are radially folded, highly vascularized tissue attached to the surface of a tough connective tissue, the interbranchial septum. Each septum is attached medially to a portion of the cartilaginous gill arch.
Where are gill rakers located?
gill arch
gill raker In most bony fish, one of a set of fairly stiff, tooth-like processes, located on the inner side of the gill arch, which strain the water flowing past the gills. In some fish (e.g. mullet and herring) the gill rakers are long and closely set, thereby acting as a sieve capable of retaining food particles.
What is gill arch theory?
Branchial arches, or gill arches, are a series of bony “loops” present in fish, which support the gills. As gills are the primitive condition of vertebrates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the eventual fate of these arches varies between taxa. All basal vertebrates breathe with gills.
What is the largest organ in a shark?
Liver
Liver: Taking up roughly 80% of the shark’s internal body cavity, the liver is the largest of sharks’ organs. The liver stores energy as dense oil which helps the shark with buoyancy, its ability to float. It also works as a part of the digestive system and helps filter toxins out of the shark’s blood.