The phylogenetic allometry of the semicircular canals of small fishes

Abstract

The working frequency range of the semicircular canals is a function of several variables including their tube radii and radii of curvature. The average radius of curvature \(\bar R\), and the outer tube radius squared, \(\bar r_{\text{0}}^{\text{2}} \), were determined from preserved specimens of 33 species (19 families) of small (0.4–400 g) fishes. These had the following allometries with respect to body mass: $$\bar R = {\text{0}}{\text{.671 }}M^{{\text{0}}{\text{.264}} \pm {\text{0}}{\text{.038}}} $$ $$\bar r_{\text{0}}^{\text{2}} = {\text{0}}{\text{.011 }}M^{{\text{0}}{\text{.0348}} \pm {\text{0}}{\text{.077}}} $$ 02=0.011 M0.348±0.077 where M is given in g, \(\bar R\) and \(\bar r_{\text{0}} \) in mm and the error limits include 95% of all observations.