OBSERVATION ON SCALE CHROMATOPHORE AND BODY COLOR’S GENESIS OF CARP AND CRUSCIAN CARP

Scales of different color selected from several kinds of carps and crucian carps were observed bymicroscope. The fishes were common carp, common crucian carp, red crucian carp, transparent color crucian carp, blue carp, red purse carp and ornamental carp. According to the results obtained during the observation, the scale is composed of 4 kinds of chromatophore, namely,erythrophore, xanthophore, melanophore and guanophore, which distribute the upper and lower layer of the scale. It is the different combination, sizes and shapes of the chromatophore that constitute variable body colors. The main characteristic of the transparent color crucian carp is that basic absence of guanophore in the lower layer, whereas complete presence in other species.There is no erythrophore and xanthophore in theblue carp , with which mainly takes on a blue crystal in guanophore layer.The genesis of the body color was also observed during the fry reproduced to the body color appeared. The body color of the fry is pretty similar between common carp, common crucian carp, red crucian carp and transparent color crucian carp. The common features are of the bigger branch melanophore inside and transparent body which signal the gray color. The body colors both of the fry of the red purse carp and the ornamental carp are very close, expressing fresh yellow. Except for the eyes, the rest part of the whole body is transparent without melanophore deposition. Both fry with 25 days old of transparent color crucian carp and ornamental carp, the body color begins to differentiate remarkably, whereas, the body color of the 50 days old fry of the red crucian carp gradually turns the gray to the red.