lagena

[ luh-jee-nuh ]

noun

, Zoology.

, plural la·ge·nae [l, uh, -, jee, -nee].

1. an outpocketing of the saccule of birds, reptiles, and bony fishes corresponding to the cochlear duct of mammals.

lagena

/ ləˈdʒiːnə /

noun

1. a bottle with a narrow neck
2. an outgrowth of the sacculus in the ear of fishes and amphibians, thought to be homologous to the cochlea of mammals

Word History and Origins

Origin of lagena¹

< New Latin, special use of Latin lagēna flask, flagon; cognate with Greek lágȳnos

Word History and Origins

Origin of lagena¹

C19: Latin, a flask, from Greek lagēnos

Example Sentences

The longer the lagena, the better hearing an animal has.

From Washington Post

The barn owl, a proficient nocturnal predator even in pitch-black conditions, has the proportionally longest lagena of any living bird.

From Washington Post

The researchers looked at a structure called the lagena, a curving and fingerlike sac that sits in a cavity in the bones surrounding the brain and is connected to the part of the ear that allows reptiles and birds to keep balance and move their heads while walking.

From Washington Post

Shuvuuia is unique among predatory dinosaurs with a hyper-elongated lagena, almost identical in relative size to a barn owl’s.

From Washington Post

The longer the lagena, the better hearing an animal has.

From Reuters