Abstract
The tropical freshwater fish Eremophylus mutisii is endemic to the Cundinamarca highland in Colombia. Skin samples (0.5x0.5 cm2) were taken from 11 specimens at six body parts (mandible, dorsal head, dorsal trunk, caudal trunk, medial trunk and abdominal area), fixed in 4% formaldehyde, dehydrated in 95% ethanol and 99% isopropanol, embedded in paraffin and sectioned at 5 sm. The skin is made of two mayor cutaneous layers (epidermis and dermis) and a subcutaneous layer (hypodermis). The epidermis presents three layers with secretory cells, epithelial cells and a few taste buds; the dermis is separated from the epidermis by a basal membrane. We observed fibroblasts, two layers of melanophors and some blood vessels; the hypodermis has vascularized adipose tissue. Skin thickness changes with body area; the dermis is thicker than the epidermis; skin has more club cells than mucous cells. The medial trunk area has the largest number of club and mucous cells. The skin of E. mutissi seems to mainly have a protective function.
Highlights
El pez llamado en Colombia Capitán de la Sabana, Eremophilus mutisii, es endémico de las aguas naturales fluviales y lacustres del altiplano Cundiboyacense (Borissow y Canosa 2000, Rodríguez 2000)
La epidermis es frecuentemente más gruesa en las áreas dorsales del cuerpo, mientras que las especies bentónicas la epidermis presenta mayor grosor en las superficies que cubren la parte ventral
Finalmente, no hay diferencias en la densidad de células mucosas a lo largo del cuerpo, por lo tanto esta distribución regular podría garantizar una capa de mucus homogénea sobre la superficie del pez (Elliott 2000), que asegura la protección de la piel
Summary
El pez llamado en Colombia Capitán de la Sabana, Eremophilus mutisii, es endémico de las aguas naturales fluviales y lacustres del altiplano Cundiboyacense (Borissow y Canosa 2000, Rodríguez 2000).
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