Variation in lengths of ciliary bundles on hair cells along the macula of the sacculus in two species of teleost fishes.
The sacculus is one of the end-organs of the inner ear. In many teleost fishes the sacculus is considered the major auditory organ. We have used scanning electron microscopy to examine the lengths of the ciliary bundles on hair cells in the sensory macula of the sacculus in two diverse species of teleosts. The data are presented in a form allowing direct comparison with recent data on a wide range of tetrapod auditory organs. In goldfish, the ciliary bundles are significantly longer in the caudal part of the macula than in the rostral part, but the kissing gourami shows nearly uniform ciliary bundle heights along its entire length. Based on limited data from the literature, the part of the macula responsive to lower frequencies is the part containing these taller bundles in goldfish, suggesting a parallel with the gradient of ciliary bundles and frequency response found in tetrapods.
D000818:Animals; D002923:Cilia / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005399:Fishes; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012444:Saccule and Utricle / Q000648:ultrastructure