Zulassungsarbeit

The clupeiform fish, including herring, sardine and anchovy are one of the most diverse and gastronomically important groups within the teleost fishes. Settling various habitats, an enourmous diversity of specialized morphological adaptations has evolved. Coilia nasus, a japanese member of the family Engraulididae( better-known species are for example Clupea harengus and Engraulis encrasicolus) shows a lot of morphological adaptions, especially in structure. Therefore, the main focus is on larval stadium of Coilia nasus, 22 days old (The use of a larval stadium is explained by a much easier handling). By advanced means of the 3D-Imaging Software Amira, digital surface models were created, showing all cranial organs. Through these demonstrative visualizations (some of these are shown above) the morphological situation in the larval can be analyzed. Furthermore, they can be compared to other developmental states reconstructed by other members of the study group. Especially the eye-region is interesting for future studies, just as the so called “Bulla auditiva”, an organ associated with the inner ear. By analyzing the morphology of these structures, it is also possible to understand the functionality. Because of personal interest, the blood flow within the head region had also been reconstructed, to illustrate the simplicity of blood circulation in clupeiform fish graphically.