otolith

American  

[oht-l-ith] / ˈoʊt l ɪθ /

noun

1. Anatomy, Zoology. a calcareous concretion in the internal ear of vertebrates.

2. statolith.

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otolith British  

/ ˈəʊtəʊˌlɪθ /

noun

1. any of the granules of calcium carbonate in the inner ear of vertebrates. Movement of otoliths, caused by a change in position of the animal, stimulates sensory hair cells, which convey the information to the brain

2. another name for statolith

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Other Word Forms

• otolithic adjective

Etymology

Origin of otolith

First recorded in 1825–35; oto- + -lith

Example Sentences

When processed properly, scientists like Lackmann can examine the otolith with a compound microscope and count the layers, like the rings on a tree, and learn the age of the fish.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

Digging around, he extracted a bloody prize the size of a pencil eraser: an otolith, or ear bone.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 18, 2020

This, Wachter said, stresses the fish and causes a visible ring to form around a bone called the otolith.

From Washington Times • Oct. 6, 2018

In those individuals, Balaban says, further tests implicated damage to the ear's otolith organs, the utricle and the saccule, key to sensing gravity.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 20, 2018

According to Hensen, certain Crustacea on sloughing spontaneously introduce fine grains of sand as auditive stones into their otolith vesicle.

From Popular scientific lectures by Mach, Ernst