National Geographic - USA (2020-01)

LINE OF

SIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY

REBECCA HALE

Fine-Tuned Fish Sense

Note the thin black

stripe down this mack-

erel’s side. That’s the

lateral line, part of a

valuable system that

reads water motion and

pressure. Tiny sensors

along the line, called

neuromasts, allow fish

to identify movement

very precisely—helping

them hunt prey, avoid

obstacles, and swim in

schools, even in the dark.

—THERESA MACHEMER

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