part of start stage end stage taste bud Taste buds are made up of vertically oriented, elongate cells form the sensory epithelium of the organ: dark cells with many small microvilli, and light cells with one large microvillus as an apical ending. Between the dark and light cells and the basal lamina, the basal cells stretch horizontally. TAO:0001074 taste buds ZFA:0001074 zebrafish_anatomy Pear or onion-shaped intraepithelial sensory endorgans. They sit on a small dermal papilla and consist of modified epithelial cells of different types. The taste buds are located in the mouth, in the oropharyngeal cavity, on the head and on the barbels. They are innervated by either the facial (VII), the glossopharyngeal (IX), or the vagal (X) cranial nerve. gustatory system multi-tissue structure larval:protruding-mouth adult