An organ formed from the perforation between the point of contact between ectoderm and endoderm in the pharynx. The slits assist in filtering food particles from the water. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23020903 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6601-2165 ]
Term information
organ_slim
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Gill_slits.png/280px-Gill_slits.png
requires review. Kardong uses the term pharyngeal slit for Chondrichthyans. 'branchial slit' may also be used for amniote structures.
homologous to pharyngeal pouches
Some hemichordate species can have as many as 200 gill slits
may have been present in deuterostome ancestor[PMID:11961109]
Term relations
- digestive system element
- endoderm-derived structure
- capable of part of some feeding behavior
- develops from some early pharyngeal endoderm
- in taxon some (not Vertebrata
) - in taxon some Deuterostomia
- part of some chordate pharynx