红腹锦鸡和白腹锦鸡卵壳的超微结构

THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF EGGSHELLS OFChrysolophus pictus AND Chrysolophus amherstiae

本文报道了锦鸡属——白腹锦鸡和红腹锦鸡卵壳的气孔、外壳膜、锥体层、木栅层的超微结构。并对两者的卵壳进行了比较。

Chrysolophus, an endemic genus of Chinese pheasants, has two species. They are C. pictus and C. amherstiae, considered as 2nd category of animals for protection under China's game laws. They are mainly distributing in the central and western parts of China. The present paper deals with our studies pf the ultrastructural eggshell of the two species. There has been so far no works dealing with the ultrastructural eggshell of both C. piclus and C. amherstiae in China or the rest of the world. The microstructures of avian eggshell are composed chiefly of cuticle, outer shell membrane, mammilary core, cone layer, palisade layer, basal cap, pore channel and pore mouth etc. The results of our observation of the above ultrastructural eggshell of both C. pictus and C. amherstiae may be summa-ried as follows. 1. Cuticle of eggshell of Chrysolophus is covered with a thin organic cuticle, a chalky organic coyer, or an inorganic coyer composed primarily of vaterite. The true cuticle is principally composed of protein, fat and polysoc-charides of surgars. The cuticles of the eggshell of both C. pictus and C. amherstiae are alike, while those two species are smoother and have granules and the appearance of cuticles resembles tortaise-shell streak. There are some differences to be seen in the cuticle of the two species. The tortaise-shell-like of C. pictus is slender and have more numbers than that of C. amherstiae. 2. The outer eggshell membranes The outer eggshell membranes can usually be divided into the inside of the inner membrane and the outside of the outer membrane. Both membranes adhere to each other except at the broad pole of the egg, where an intervening airspace is formed. Under the scanning electron microscopy the membrane appears as profuse mat fibres, which consist of variable proteins. There are obvious differences in the forms of the fibres of eggshell membrane among the two species. Under scanning electron microscopy the fibres of C. pictus likes shape of balls and that of C. amherstiae likes as a very complicated. There are quite a lot of big gaps between them. In the radially fractured eggshell of both C. pictus and C. amherstiae the cuticle, outer eggshell membrane, cone layer, palisade layer, basal cap etc. may be seen. In the radially fractured eggshell the inside of the inner membrane and the outside of the outer membrane can be indistinctly seen. 3. The pore mouth The eggshell surface also shows something of a sphere. Large openings are called 'pore mouth'. The pore mouth leads to the connection between the outside environment and the space between the cones. The pore mouths of the eggshell of C. pictus are quite round. However, the pore mouths of C. amherstiae are like a leaf of Chinese sweet gum (Liquidambar taiwantana) .