Sciaenidae

b) In other fishes, including all of those that live deep in the ocean, fishes have a special gas gland and rete mirabile, within the wall of the swim bladder, which is called a “physoclistous” swim bladder. *The rete mirabile is made up of tightly packed capillaries, arranged so that those carrying incoming blood are adjacent to those carrying outgoing blood. *This allows for filling of the swim bladder with gas from the circulatory system. *Members of family sciaenidae (drums and croakers) have sonic muscles attached to or near to their swim bladder (Fig. 12.26). *These muscles connect the skull with swim bladder *These muscles, the fastest contracting muscles known in vertebrates, cause the swim bladder to contract and expand at a rapid rate, thus creating drumming sounds. *The majority of sounds produced in this way are short pulses with fundamental frequencies ranging from about…