Lateral line system of fish

2009/03/01 by Horst Bleckmann, Randy Zelick · 5 citations
Engineering · Environmental Science · Neuroscience · #Anatomy #Biology #Fish <Actinopterygii> #Fish biology, ecology, and behavior #Fish fin #Fishery #Geology #Geometry #Lateral line #Line (geometry) #Marine animal studies overview #Neuroscience #Sensory system #Underwater Vehicles and Communication Systems #Water flow #Zebrafish

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1749-4877.2008.00131.x

openalex publication_date 2009/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

The lateral line is a sensory system that allows fishes to detect weak water motions and pressure gradients. The smallest functional unit of the lateral line is the neuromast, a sensory structure that consists of a hair cell epithelium and a cupula that connects the ciliary bundles of the hair cells with the water surrounding the fish. The lateral line of most fishes consists of hundreds of superficial neuromasts spread over the head, trunk and tail fin. In addition, many fish have neuromasts embedded in lateral line canals that open to the environment through a series of pores. The present paper reviews some more recent aspects of the morphology, behavioral relevance and physiology of the fish lateral line. In addition, it reports some new findings with regard to the coding of bulk water flow.

Citations

• Hydrodynamic image formation by the peripheral lateral line system of the Lake Michigan mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi
• A hydrodynamic topographic map in the midbrain of goldfishCarassius auratus

Cited by

• Stress-based navigation for microscopic robots in viscous fluids
• Not all who meander are lost: migrating sea lamprey follow river thalwegs to facilitate safe and efficient passage upstream
• Hydrodynamic reception [wikipedia]
• Sensory systems in fish [wikipedia]
• Shark [wikipedia]

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