Morphology of the buccal apparatus of Dendronotus frondosus (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia)

Nudibranchia is the order of Gastropoda, which is known for its high diversity of dietary specializations and a diversified morphology of the buccal armature. The characters of the buccal armature are adaptive to the feeding mechanisms and diet preferences, but they also are phylogenetically informative. The morphological differences in the buccal armature imply different mechanisms of the synthesis and morphology of the formation zones. Here, we report new data on the morphology of the buccal complex in a cladobranch species with broad radula, Dendronotus frondosus, using light microscopy, transmission and scanning elctron microscopy and computer-based three- dimensional reconstruction and compare them with those on other nudibranchs. We report the presence of protective chitinous spindles in the epithelia of the oral tube and esophagus, which suggests the presence of Cnidaria in the diet of the studied mollusc species. Similar to other Cladobranchia, the jaw plate of D. frondosus is synthesized by the layer of gnathoblasts located posteriorly in the epithelial fold. Near the zone of jaw synthesis, the gnathoblasts with concentric granular endoplasmic reticulum structures were found. This may indicate the turnover of gnathoblasts during the life of a specimen. Despite that D. frondosus has a broad radula, the zone of its synthesis does not split into two parts, unlike other molluscs with broad radulae. A single radular tooth is formed by a few cells, such as in other Nudibranchia. The number of odontoblasts per tooth in D. frondosus is not defined by a tooth size. At the same time, the linear dimensions of the cells secreting radular teeth depend on the size of the teeth synthesized by them.