The changes in cell shape during pigment migration in melanophores of a teleost, Oryzias latipes.

The changes in cell shape of fish melanophores during pigment displacement, and the effects of colchicine and cytochalasin B on the surface morphology were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Dispersed melanophores are generally flat, with thick radiating dendritic processes. Aggregated melanophores are characterized by their swollen, hemispherical centrospheres and thin, collapsed dendrites. Colchicine induces a flattening of the entire surface of the cell while cytochalasin B elicits the swelling of the centrosphere accompanied by a partial migration (aggregation) of melanosomes.