Evolution of the Understanding of Fish Hearing

Several ancient scholars assumed that fishes could hear, but it was not until early in the twentieth century that this was clearly demonstrated. At about the same time, it became clear that the sensory end organs for hearing are the otolith organs of the inner ear. It was observed that the hearing of species possessing Weberian ossicles or other structures that link the swim bladder to the inner ear or bring the two structures in close proximity was more sensitive and extended to higher frequencies than in most species lacking such features. It was also shown that the sound-sensitive otolith organs detect particle motion, and that gas-filled chambers may enhance auditory sensitivity by transforming sound pressure to particle motion. During the1970s, it was demonstrated that fishes can discriminate between sounds from different directions, but it is yet not clear whether fishes are able to localize a sound source without moving through the sound field. This chapter discusses the major findings in the history of fish hearing studies and highlights the contributions of a number of the major contributors from the beginning of the twentieth century until the 1970s.