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Phospholipids and sterols constituted 70 and 20%, respectively, of the total lipids of the gills of two crabs, Cancer antennarius and Portunus xantusi. Phosphatidylcholine (46-55% of the total phospholipid phosphorous) and phosphatidylethanolamine (24-25%) were the principal phospholipids present. In both species 1′-alkenyl glycerols were present in about 20% of the phospholipid molecules but were not detected in the neutral gill lipids. The total ether phospholipids of C. antennarius gills contained 62% 1-(1′-alkenyl) groups, with the remainder probably being 1-alkyl moieties. Total gill plasmalogen contents were in the range of 163-184 μmol/g lipid, 82-87% of which was in the phosphatidylethanolamine fraction in both crab species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gill phospholipids of 2 Pacific salmon species, Oncorhynchus keta and O gorbuscha, were composed of 38-43% phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 19-22% phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Ether phosphoglycerides constituted 4-8% of the total PC fraction and 37-51% of the PE fraction. No significant changes in gill phospholipids were observed between those of pre-spawning fish in sea water and those of spawned salmon in the river. Cholesterol, however, was higher in the latter (0.59% vs 0.38%).

Lipids constituted 0.6-2.2% wet wt of the gills of 11 species of aquatic animals (4 bivalves, a crustacean and 6 fishes). Phospholipids, largely phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), are major components of all species. The plasmalogen contents of these lipids were 47-291 mumol/g, with the highest values found for bivalve gill total lipids and the catfish phospholipid fraction.

The muscle of Latimeria chalumnae contains 30 to 71 percent (dry weight) of lipid deposited extracellularly. Wax esters constituted 90 percent or more of the lipids from muscle and fat storage tissues. These esters, by gaschromatographic analysis, consisted of C(30) to C(40) homologs with one or two double bonds.

The polyunsaturated wax esters which occur in an oil droplet in Calanus helgolandicus apparently serve as a short term reserve metabolic fuel. The lipids of the copepods were labeled by feeding them (14)C-labeled diatoms, Skeletonema costatum, after which starvation and turnover experiments were carried out. During starvation both wax esters and triglycerides are largely depleted within 72 hr, whereas cholesterol and phospholipid decreased at much slower rates.