Occurrence of keratinization in the structures associated with lips of a hill stream fish Garra lamta (Hamilton)(Cyprinidae, Cypriniformes)

Abstract

Keratinized regions were found to occur in the rostral cap, adhesive pad and horny jaw sheaths associated with the lips of Garra lamta , which inhabits fast flowing turbulent hill streams. In these structures, the surface epithelial cells were modified into characteristic keratinized spine‐like or columnar tooth‐like unculi, which would provide firm anchorage for the fish on the substratum and assist the fish in browsing or scraping food materials from it.

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