The larval attachment organ of the tropical gar Atractosteus tropicus Gill, 1863 (Lepisosteiformes: Lepisosteidae)

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Abstract
Larval attachment organs are unicellular or multicellular organs that allow larvae to adhere to a substrate prior to yolk‐sac absorption and the free‐swimming stage. We document the larval attachment organ of Atractosteus tropicus, the Tropical gar, using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. We show that the larval attachment organ of A. tropicus is a super‐organ surrounded by a wall and containing at its center many smaller multicellular organ units, each comprised of attachment and support cells. Attachment cells are secretory and house large vacuoles filled with a glycoprotein. At hatching, the super‐organ is well‐developed and occupies almost the entire anteroventral surface of the head. During subsequent development, the smaller individual units begin to regress, until at 6 days post hatching the super‐organ and its individual units are no longer visible.

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