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Structural variation in the inner ears of four deep‐sea elopomorph fishes
Author(s) -
Buran Bradley N.,
Deng Xiaohong,
Popper Arthur N.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.10355
Subject(s) - saccule , utricle , biology , inner ear , anatomy , vestibular system , sensory system , otolith , bundle , fish <actinopterygii> , neuroscience , fishery , materials science , composite material
Deep‐sea fishes have evolved in dark or dimly lit environments devoid of the visual cues available to shallow‐water species. Because of the limited opportunity for visual scene analysis by deep‐sea fishes, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the inner ears of at least some such species may have evolved structural adaptations to enhance hearing capabilities in lieu of vision. As an initial test of this hypothesis, scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the structure of the inner ears of four deep‐sea elopomorph species inhabiting different depths: Synaphobranchus kaupii , Synaphobranchus bathybius , Polyacanthonotus challengeri , and Halosauropsis macrochir . The shape of the sensory epithelia and hair cell ciliary bundle orientation of the saccule, lagena, and utricle, the three otolithic organs associated with audition and vestibular function, are described. The saccules of all four species have a common, alternating ciliary bundle orientation pattern. In contrast, the lagena exhibits more interspecific diversity in shape and ciliary bundle orientation, suggesting that it has special adaptations in these species. The macula neglecta, a sensory epithelium of unknown function, is present in all four species. J. Morphol. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.