Fish Ears: How do Fish Hear?

How do fish hear?

Do fish have ears? Well, yes, but you can't see them. That's because a fish's ears are located inside its head, behind each eye. Each ear is a small, hollow space, lined with nerve hairs and containing three otoliths - ear stones - that rest on the nerve hairs.

Sound travels as series of waves or vibrations through water. A fishes body is a similar density to the water around it, so as the sound waves pass through it, the fishes inner ear bones - otoliths - react to the vibrations, or sound waves, in the water around them. This allows the fish to hear, or indeed sense, sound.

fish noses

Do fishes have noses?

Not noses necessarily, nostrils perhaps, but they can smell. Unlike meany land animals fishes do not breathe through nostrils. Some species have pairs of nostrils and an actively pump water in through one and out the other. The nostrils are used only for smelling.

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