Sensory Organ

Nares or Nostrils

Ronnel V. Encinas

Can Fish Smell???

The key to a good sense of smell for fish
is the ability to move water rapidly over
their sensory pads.
Smell, or olfaction, as scientists call it, is
an important sense for many fish. Those
little holes that look like nostrils are called
nares. Nares dont lead to the throat the
way nostrils do in mammals, but open up
into a chamber lined with sensory pads.

NARES OR NOSTRILS
Nares are the openings to a fish's olfactory
organsin other words, his nose (or noses
there's one on each side of his face). This organ
isn't exactly the same as a human's nose, but it
senses smells in the water. Understanding these
smells help fish decide what to do, such as swim
away in fear or rush forward to grab a tasty bite.

Human Nose

Nare of Fish

How Nares Work???

Olfactory chambers are lined with sensory pads that
help fish distinguish different chemical compositions in the
water. As water flows through the nares and over the
pads, the pads send signals to the brain to help determine
information on the smell such as distance and source.
Some fish are better smellers than others. Salmon, for
example, use their nares to find their way back to the
stream where they were born so they can spawn.

(1) Breathing
Nares are different from mammal nostrils in one
important way: fish don't use nares to breathe. Most
fish use their gills underwater exclusively to
breathe, although some can use their mouths to
breathe air from above the water's surface on
occasion. Nares are used solely for smelling
purposes, and they don't help the fish in respiration.
Each olfactory chamber is "blind," meaning it isn't
connected to anything else in the fish's body the
way the nose is connected to the mouth and throat
in humans.

(2) To Swim or Not to Swim

To move water through the nares, fish can swim
or use tiny hairs called cilia. In fish with two
nares on each side, water flows into one nare,
through the sensory pad cavity and back out the
other nare, creating a continuous flow so the fish
doesn't miss important scents. When fish swim,
their motion naturally draws water in for
smelling. Not all fish have cilia in their olfactory
chambers, but those that do can smell while
sitting still. The small hairs draw water into one
nare while the fish isn't moving forward, and the
cilia in the other nare push the water back out.

(3) Interpreting Smells

The brain interprets the information brought
in by the nares and turns it into action. Fish
release chemicals into the water to notify
other fish of their status, such as when they
are wounded. These smells cause different
fish to react differently. For example, a shark
might zoom toward the smell of a wounded
fish, while other fish might take off in the
other direction to avoid any threat.

Differences in Anatomy
1. Broad, Groove-like opening- e.g. dogfish
shark

2. Partial division of the aperture by a flap of

tissue into incurrent (anterior) and excurrent
(posterior) pores.
3. Complete separation of the incoming and
outgoing water through the development of
separate pores for each current.

Types
1. Dirhinous condition- one or 2 nares on
each side of the snout leading to a blind sac
represent the organ of smell externally
among fishes.

2. Monorhinous condition- single and median

e.g. lampreys and hagfishes

3. Dorsolateral Position- nares at the top and

sides for most fishes

4. Nares at the ventral surface of the snoutfor sharks, rays, and skates

THE END!!!

I hope you had an enjoyable and knowledgeable

learning experience!!!!!