ISSN:
1432-1351
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary 1. Investigations were conducted on hearing capabilities and the structure of the inner ear in the marine catfish,Arius felis. 2. The gross morphology and ultrastructure of the saccule and lagena are similar to that found in other Ostariophysi. In contrast, the utricle inArius is very large and has a large otolith. The utricular sensory epithelium forms a band around the equatorial region of the rounded otolithic chamber rather than being on the equator as well as on the lower half of the chamber as in other fishes. 3. Behavioral audiograms, determined using avoidance conditioning techniques, showArius to be able to detect sounds from 50 to 1,000 Hz with best hearing sensitivity from 100 to 200 Hz. This is in contrast to the hearing abilities of other Ostariophysi which can detect sounds to over 3,000 Hz and which have best hearing sensitivity at about 500 to 1,000 Hz. 4. It is concluded that the auditory system inArius is adapted for hearing low frequency sounds used in the detection of objects in their environment through echolocation. It is suggested that the utricle may be important in this ability.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00612794
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