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Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the biochemical and molecular aspects of singing in Batrachoidid fishes. The fishes of the family, Batrachoididae (toadfish and midshipman), have a rather simple neuromuscular system for generating sounds. Central to the production of sound in these species is a heart-shaped swimbladder, which has two large strips of muscle, one on each side. Sound is produced when neural signals, originating in the brain, trigger simultaneous contraction of the muscles against the taut surface of the swimbladder. The finely tuned neuromuscular system of this family presents researchers with several interesting avenues of inquiry. The muscle is among the fastest in the animal kingdom. Thus, comparative study of this tissue will yield interesting insights into muscle structure/function relationships in general. The sonic muscle is used to generate defensive sounds (grunts) by both sexes, as well as a mate call (boat whistle of toadfish and the hum of midshipman) used exclusively by males to attract females to their nest for mating. This chapter summarizes the metabolic biochemistry of this unique muscle system, set upon a foundation of the only slightly larger body of information on the ultrastructure of the muscle and the biochemistry of the contractile apparatus. |
