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Abstract

The olfactory organ of the predatory catfish, Mystus gulio (Siluriformes: Ailiidae) was investigated through light microscopy and electron (scanning and transmission) microscopy to elucidate its structural organization. The olfactory rosette was elongated, comprising 32 to 38 lamellae arranged along a central midline raphe. Each olfactory lamella consisted of two principal parts: the olfactory epithelium (mucosa) and the median raphe. The mucosa displayed a clear demarcation into sensory and nonsensory zones, both exhibiting distinct cellular compositions that could be identified based on histoarchitectural features, staining affinities, surface morphology, distributional arrangement and ultrastructural characteristics. The sensory mucosa contained three types of receptor cells: two classical forms bearing either cilia or microvilli, and a third characterized by rod-shaped apical specialization. The nonsensory mucosa comprised mucous cells, chloride-like cells, rodlet cells and mast cells, along with two types of supporting cells categorized as either ciliated or non-ciliated. Basal cells were situated deep within the olfactory mucosa, adjacent to the central core. Structurally, the raphe was formed by compactly arranged stratified epithelial cells exhibiting distinct microridges on the apical membrane. The study discussed the functional relevance of the diverse cell types forming the olfactory mucosa, emphasizing their specific roles in the olfactory perception of Mystus gulio.

Keywords

Tissue microscopy SEM TEM Olfactory sensing Mystus gulio

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The authors transfer the copyrights of their papers to the Iranian Society of Ichthyology. However, the information could be used in accordance with the Creative Commons licence (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

How to Cite
GHOSH, S. K., & KHAN, A. (2026). The olfactory organ of long whiskered catfish, <i>Mystus gulio</i> (Hamilton, 1822): histomorphology and ultrastructure. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 12(4), 312–324. https://doi.org/10.22034/iji.v12i4.1126
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