Suckermouth armored catfish resolve the paradox of simultaneous respiration and suction attachment: a kinematic study of Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus

Suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae) use their suckermouth for inspiration, feeding, and attachment to substrates. The sucker consists of a pre-valvular cavity, formed by a modified lip disc, and is separated from the larger post-valvular buccal cavity by a muscular oral valve. The combination of respiration and suction attachment seems paradoxal, as a properly functioning suction device would need a sucker without leakage (yet inspiration must occur via the sucker), and continuous subambient pressure in the sucker cavity (even during expiratory mouth floor elevation). In the loricariid Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus, the anatomy of the suckermouth structures was examined, and a kinematic analysis was performed to acquire insights into how respiration and attachment are combined. High-speed external and X-ray recordings show that suckermouth attachment influences respiratory parameters such as decreasing excursion amplitudes of mouth floor elements, and the way water enters the mouth via furrows in the lip disc. Respiration, however, continues during attachment and is not blocked. Our data show that the muscular oral valve actively separates the post-valvular buccal cavity from the pre-valvular sucker cavity. Volume changes of this pre-valvular cavity are opposite to those of the post-valvular cavity and assure sucker function even during expiration. These volume changes are caused by movements of the lower lip, the lower jaws, and the oral valve. The lateral inflow furrow openings, controlled by the maxillary barbels, can occur unilaterally. Morphological and kinematic data also show that the opercle is anatomically and functionally decoupled from the gill opening. J. Exp. Zool. 315:121–131, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.