The eyes have it: A brief history of crustacean neuroendocrinology

To help celebrate the 50th anniversary of General and Comparative Endocrinology, the history of only a small portion of crustacean endocrinology is presented here. The field of crustacean endocrinology dates back to the decades prior to the establishment of General and Comparative Endocrinology and the first article about crustacean endocrinology published in this journal [77] was concerned with the anatomy of neurosecretory and neurohemal structures in brachyuran crabs. This review looks at the history of neuroendocrinology in crustaceans during that time and tries to put perspective on the future of this field.

► The nervous system of crustaceans was the first recognized component of the crustacean endocrine system.
► Subsequent work has revealed a number of peptides within the crustacean nervous system serving a variety of functions.
► The complexity of peptide products in the crustacean CNS has led to expanded models of physiological control in crustaceans.
► The need for a decapod crustacean genome is crucial for a full understanding of crustacean endocrinology.