Histology of the grooved ventral pouch of the minke whale,Balaenoptera acutorostrata, with special reference to the occurrence of lamellated corpuscles

The rorquals, Balaenopteridae, catch their food by swimming into a concentration of krill or schooling fish, taking up prey-laden water, and then filtering it with their fringed baleen. An anatomical feature adapted to this feeding strategy is the expansible buccal cavity. The amount of expansion depends upon the elasticity of the grooved ventral pouch forming the wall of the buccal cavity. This wall consists, in addition to the fat tissue, of thick layers of elastic connective tissue and muscle. In these layers, lamellated corpuscles were found close to the grooves. These sense organs may play a role in the timing of mouth closure during feeding.