New Discovery: Deep Sea Fish Have Ears!

I never really wondered if fish had ears or not, but in a recent discovery scientists found fish in the deep end of the waters that evolved ears like no others. Examining several fish species collected from waters as deep as 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers), researchers discovered ear structures never seen before in other fish.The strange structures may enhance the animals’ hearing, researchers speculate.

The inner ear (pictured) of a blue antimora (inset) is exceptionally rigid—a feature never before seen in a deep-sea fish, according to a study to be presented in May 2009.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Interesting Fish. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.