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Differences in morphological features of the sacculus of the inner ear of two hakes ( Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus , gadiformes) inhabits from different depth of sea
Author(s) -
Lombarte Antoni,
Fortuño José M.
Publication year - 1992
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.1052140107
Subject(s) - biology , anatomy , morphology (biology) , hake , zoology , fishery , fish <actinopterygii>
The morphology of the sensory epithelia of the sacculus in two species of hake, Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus , was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sensory epithelia have two morphological features that are very different from other gadiform species. These include the presence of two large areas which are only linked by a narrow neck, and the larger proportion of hair cells oriented in the rostrocaudal axis than in other species. The deeper‐dwelling species, M. paradoxus , has a larger proportion of hair cell with short ciliary bundles than does the shallower‐dwelling species, M. capensis . These morphological specializations could improve the acoustic diserimination and localization capabilities of these species, possibly related to an increase in sensitivity to higher frequency sounds in the deeper‐dwelling species. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.