Fishionary

A blog about fish words!

By Abigail Lynch

A blog about fish words!

physoclistous

Swim bladder

Posted by abby on August 14, 2015
Herring inflate their swim bladders by "gulping" air and deflate them by "burping" or "farting." (gma.org)

Herring inflate their swim bladders by “gulping” air and deflate them by “burping” or “farting.” (gma.org)

The swim bladder is an air filled organ used by some fish to maintain buoyancy at a desired depth and produce or hear sound.

  • Physostomous swim bladders are directly connected to the gastrointestinal tract so that fish with these swim bladders, such as herrings, must “gulp” air to inflate their swim bladder and “burb” or “fart” air to deflate them.
  • Physoclistous swim bladders are not connected to the digestive tract so that fish with these swim bladders must diffuse gas from the blood to fill and collapse them.

For many fish, the swim bladder has the additional role of transferring sound waves to the auditory system.  And in some fish, such as drums and croakers, the swim bladder is used to make sounds and communicate with one another and other fish.

Fish use swim bladders for buoyancy, hearing, and producing sounds.

Fish use swim bladders for buoyancy, hearing, and producing sounds.

Posted in: S | Tagged: auditory, hearing, physoclistous, physostomous, swim bladder

Fishionary Alphabet

  • Home
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Recent Posts

  • Kype
  • Fish conservation zones (FCZs)
  • Amphidromous
  • Cartilaginous
  • Cetí (Español – English)
The views expressed in these posts are solely the views of the AFS member who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), its officers, or the U.S. Geological Survey. Both organizations make no representation on the accuracy of opinions expressed in this blog. AFS merely hosts voluntary blogs as a place for members to share their personal views with other AFS members and to engage in friendly exchanges on fish topics.

Copyright © 2022 Fishionary.

Theme by themehall.com.