Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton
Published on: May 7, 2016
[Morphological differences and classifications of small spines of puffer fishes]
Yoshimichi Fujimoto1, Kenichi Uchida, Makoto Oyaizu
1Kansai Airport Quarantine Station, Food Sanitation Division, 1 Senshu-Kuko Minami, Sennan, Osaka 549-0021, Japan.
Abstract:
The differences among the small spines of 6 species of puffers have been clarified by means of microscopic observation. Small spines of puffers arise from the basement, which is composed of spines protruding from the surface skin, with roots extending horizontally in all directions in the layer under the surface skin. Using the characteristic shapes of the basement, we have classified the puffer group of "Sansaifugu" (Takifugu flavidus) and "Mefugu" (T. obscurus) as Type I and the group of "Shirosabafugu" (Lagocephalus wheeleri), "Kurosabafugu" (L. gloveri), "Dokusabafugu" (L. lunaris) and "Motosabafugu" (L. spadiceus) as Type II. The number of fore and back roots, including the branches at the ends, further varies in each group. The length and width of each root were measured. As a result, similar species within the group comprising "Sansaifugu" (T. flavidus) and "Mefugu" (T. obscurus) and 4 species of the "Sabafugu" (Lagocephalus) group including "Dokusabafugu" (L. lunaris) have been clearly distinguished. We conclude that examination of the shape of the basement of small spines can be an effective identification index.
Related Concept Videos
Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form the...
Fixed Action Patterns
Spinal Nerves: Anatomy
There are 31 bilateral pairs of spinal nerves, each emerging from the spinal cord through the intervertebral foramina—openings between adjacent vertebrae. These nerves are...
Special Staining Techniques
Classification of Bones
Long and Short Bones
The appendicular skeleton, particularly the upper and lower limbs, is primarily made of long and short bones. The long...
General Structure of a Vertebra

