The Fish That Hears With Its Bones
These tiny fish can hear using their bones — and even communicate with underwater ‘fart’ signals.
Listening Without Ears?
When we think about how animals hear, we usually imagine ears — big ones, small ones, pointed, round — but always ears.
But in the vast oceans, some creatures have evolved hearing systems that are completely different.
They don’t have outer ears.
They don’t even rely entirely on inner ears.
Instead, they listen with their bones.
Meet the Clupeidae family — a group of fish that includes herrings, sardines, and shads. These fish have developed one of the most fascinating hearing adaptations in the animal kingdom: they use their bones to detect sound.
Who Are the Clupeidae?
The Clupeidae are small to medium-sized schooling fish found in oceans all over the world. They're well-known in fisheries for their commercial value, but scientists are equally fascinated by how they communicate, navigate, and survive — especially in noisy underwater environments.
These fish:
- Swim in large synchronized schools
- Rely heavily on detecting tiny sound changes
- Don’t have visible ears — but are excellent listeners
So how do they do it?
The Trick: Hearing Through Bones
Fish don’t have ears like mammals, but they do have inner ears. Normally, sound waves move through water and into the fish’s body, where they vibrate parts of the inner ear. But in Clupeidae fish, there’s a special upgrade.
These fish use a set of small bones — called otoliths — that act like natural hearing stones.
Sound travels faster in water than in air. When it hits the fish, these otoliths vibrate differently from the rest of the body. Sensory hair cells in the fish detect this difference in vibration and interpret it as sound.
It’s a bit like having tiny tuning forks inside your head.
The Bone-to-Ear Connection
Now here’s the wild part.
Clupeidae fish take it further by using their swim bladder — the air-filled organ that helps them float — as part of their hearing system.
They have thin bones that connect the swim bladder directly to the inner ear. These bones transmit vibrations from the swim bladder to the ear, making sound detection much more sensitive.
This means they can detect:
- Predator movements
- Communication signals from other fish
- Underwater noise patterns from long distances
In a world without light — like murky waters or deep oceans — this hearing system is a life-saving superpower.
Why So Sensitive?
Hearing in water is more complicated than on land.
- Sound travels five times faster in water
- There’s no external ear to capture it
- Vibrations must travel through soft tissues and fluids
That’s why the Clupeidae’s bony hearing system is so special.
It amplifies and focuses sound, giving them a competitive advantage.
Some researchers believe this is why these fish often swim in tightly packed schools — their enhanced hearing allows them to stay in sync with thousands of others, even in pitch-black waters.
Communication Through Farts?
Yes, you read that right 🤭
Clupeidae fish — especially herrings — have another bizarre talent: they can communicate using gas bubbles released from their anuses.
Scientists call this behavior “Fast Repetitive Ticks” (FRTs).
They’re not actual farts in the digestive sense, but controlled gas releases from the swim bladder that produce high-pitched sounds.
And guess what?
Only fish with this bone-linked hearing system can detect them clearly.
Some researchers believe herrings use these “fart signals” to:
- Maintain school cohesion at night
- Signal danger
- Attract mates
It sounds ridiculous, but it’s a real, peer-reviewed phenomenon — and only possible because of their advanced hearing.
A Delicate Sense in a Noisy World
The ocean is getting noisier.
With human activities like shipping, sonar, and drilling, underwater sound pollution is rising — and fish like the Clupeidae are among the first to be affected.
Their finely tuned hearing system, once a powerful survival tool, can be overwhelmed by artificial noise.
This disrupts:
- Migration patterns
- School formation
- Predator detection
- Breeding communication
Protecting these fish means protecting an entire underwater network of life — because they’re a key food source for larger fish, whales, seabirds, and even humans.
More Than Just Dinner
To most people, sardines and herrings are just food in a can.
But they are so much more.
These tiny fish:
- Hear with their bones
- Communicate with underwater sounds
- Coordinate in massive schools with pinpoint accuracy
- Help maintain balance in the ocean’s food web
And they do it all without making a sound humans can hear.
They remind us that even the quietest creatures can have the most remarkable adaptations.
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