A Knollenorgan is an electroreceptor in the skin of weakly

electric fish An electric fish is any fish that can generate electric fields. Most electric fish are also electroreceptive, meaning that they can sense electric fields. The only exception is the stargazer family. Electric fish, although a small minority, in ...

of the family Mormyridae (Elephantfish) from Africa. The structure was first described by Viktor Franz (1921), a German anatomist unaware of its function. They are named after "Knolle", German for "tuberous root" which describes their structure.

Structure and function

Knollenorgans contain modified epithelial cells that act as sensory transducers for electric fields. Besides these, there are supporting cells and a sensory neuron. The neuron projects to the fish's brain, specifically to the nucleus of the electrosensory

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

lobe (nELL) of the medulla via the posterior branch of the lateral line nerve. The organs are embedded in the thickened

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...

. The receptor cells lie buried in the deeper layers of the epidermis, where they expand into a pocket in the superficial layers of the corium. The sense organ is surrounded by a basement membrane which separates corium from epidermis. Epithelial cells form a loose plug over the

sensory receptor Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The cell ...

s, allowing capacity-coupled current to pass from the external environment to the sensory receptor. Knollenorgans lack the jelly-filled canal leading from sensory receptor cells to the external environment characteristic of the

Ampullae of Lorenzini Ampullae of Lorenzini (singular ''Ampulla'') are electroreceptors, sense organs able to detect electric fields. They form a network of mucus-filled pores in the skin of cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) and of basal actinopterygia ...

found in sharks and other

basal group In phylogenetics, basal is the direction of the ''base'' (or root) of a phylogenetic tree#Rooted tree, rooted phylogenetic tree or cladogram. The term may be more strictly applied only to nodes adjacent to the root, or more loosely applied to nodes ...

s of fishes. Knollenorgans are sensitive to electrical stimuli at frequences between 20 hertz and 20

kilohertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...

, with electric fields as small as 0.1 millivolt per centimetre. They are used to detect the weak electric organ discharges of other electric fish, usually of their own species.

References

{{Electric fish Fish physiology Neuroethology Fish nervous system Electric fish

Structure and function

See also

References