The Lateral Line, in this case shown on a shark

In fish, the lateral line is a sense organ used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail. Sometimes parts of the lateral organ are modified into electroreceptors, which are organs used to detect electrical impulses. It is possible that vertebrates such as sharks use the lateral organs to detect magnetic fields as well. Most amphibian larvae and some adult amphibians also have a lateral organ. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 366 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 457 pixel, file size: 74 KB, MIME type: image/png) Diagram of the lateral line of a shark File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 366 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 457 pixel, file size: 74 KB, MIME type: image/png) Diagram of the lateral line of a shark File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Senses are the physiological methods of perception. ... Electroreception, sometimes written as electroception, is the biological ability to receive and make use of electrical impulses. ... Orders Carcharhiniformes Heterodontiformes Hexanchiformes Lamniformes Orectolobiformes Pristiophoriformes Squaliformes Squatiniformes Symmoriida(extinct) Shark (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton[1] and a streamlined body. ... Subclasses and Orders    Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia    Order Anura    Order Caudata    Order Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectothermic (term for the animals...

The Lateral line is related to the Ampullae of Lorenzini. The ampullae of Lorenzini are special sensing organs, forming a network of jelly-filled canals found on elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and Chimaera. ...

The receptors in the lateral line are neuromasts, each of which is composed of a group of hair cells. The hairs are surrounded by a protruding jelly-like cupula, typically 1/10 to 1/5 mm long. The hair cells and cupolas of the neuromasts are usually at the bottom of a visible pit or groove in the fish. The hair cells in the lateral line are similar to the hair cells inside the vertebrate inner ear, indicating that the lateral line and the inner ear share a common origin. Bat ears come in different sizes and shapes The ear is the sense organ that detects sound. ...

Teleosts and elasmobranchs usually have lateral-line canals, in which the neuromasts are not directly exposed to the environment, but communicate with it via canal pores. Additional neuromasts may appear individually at various locations on the body surface. Superorders Osteoglossomorpha Elopomorpha Clupeomorpha Ostariophysi Protacanthopterygii Sternopterygii Cyclosquamata Scopelomorpha Lampridiomorpha Polymyxiomorpha Paracanthopterygii Polymyxiomorpha Acanthopterygii Teleostei is one of three infraclasses in class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes. ... Superorders Galeomorpha Batoidea Selachimorpha Elasmobranchii is the subclass of cartilaginous fishes that includes skates, rays and sharks. ...

The development of the lateral-line system depends on the fish's mode of life. For instance, fish that are active swimming types tend to have more neuromasts in canals than they have on their surface, and the line will be farther away from the pectoral fins, which probably reduces the amount of "noise" that is generated by fin motion.

The lateral-line system helps the fish to avoid collisions, to orient itself in relation to water currents, and to locate prey. For instance, blind cavefish have rows of neuromasts on their heads, which appear to be used to precisely locate food without the use of sight; killifish are able to use their lateral line organ to sense the ripples made by insects struggling on the water's surface. Experiments with pollock have shown that the lateral line is also a keys enabler for schooling behavior. Binomial name Astyanax mexicanus (De Filippi, 1853) The Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus) is a freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. ... A killifish is any of various small, mainly oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodont fish (order Cyprinodontiformes, family Cyprinodontidae). ... Species Pollachius pollachius Pollachius virens Pollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. ... This article is about swarms in biology. ...

Some crustaceans and cephalopods have similar organs. Classes & Subclasses Branchiopoda Phyllopoda Sarsostraca Remipedia Cephalocarida Maxillopoda Thecostraca Tantulocarida Branchiura Pentastomida Mystacocarida Copepoda Ostracoda Myodocopa Podocopa Malacostraca Phyllocarida Hoplocarida Eumalacostraca The nauplius larva of a dendrobranchiate Porcellio scaber, the common rough woodlouse, a terrestrial crustacean Pollicipes polymerus, the gooseneck barnacle Glyphea pseudastacus, a fossil glypheoid The crustaceans (Crustacea) are... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) ?†Boletzkyida Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class...

See also: fish hearing

Images

some scales of the lateral line of the roach (Rutilus rutilus) Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 420 pixelsFull resolution (942 × 495 pixel, file size: 220 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lateral line Metadata This file contains...

The small holes on the head of this pike contain neuromasts of the lateral line system. Also the eye lens and the nose of this predator are visible. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 485 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 621 pixel, file size: 1 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lateral line Metadata This file contains...

References

• A.N. Popper and C. Platt, "Inner ear and lateral line", in The Physiology of Fishes, 1st ed. (CRC Press, 1993)
• N.A.M. Schellart and R.J. Wubbels, "The auditory and mechanosensory lateral line system", in The Physiology of Fishes, 2nd ed. (CRC Press, 1998)