Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of starfishes, of the family Asterinidæ: synonymous with Palmipes. The species are known as sea-stars.
- noun [lowercase] An otolith lodged, in most fishes, in a diverticulum of the vestibule, beneath the ampulla of the posterior canal.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Anat.) The smaller of the two otoliths found in the inner ear of many fishes.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun anatomy One of the
otoliths found in thelagena of manynonmammalian vertebrates .
Etymologies
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reesetee commented on the word asteriscus
The smaller of the two pair of otoliths found in the inner ear of many fishes (plural is asterisci).
March 12, 2009
trivet commented on the word asteriscus
What is the name of the larger?
March 12, 2009
reesetee commented on the word asteriscus
The lapillus. Fishes also have a third pair of otoliths called sagittae (singular sagitta).
I fixed my previous post so it's more accurate. :-)
March 12, 2009