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statocyst

Today it means: An organ of balance found in some aquatic invertebrates, consisting of a sac-like structure containing a statolith and numerous innervated setae. Ancestral to vertebrate otolith (their organ of hearing and balance). Full definition →

First used 19th c.

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The story

From stato- + cyst.

First known use, by meaning

from 19th c. An organ of balance found in some aquatic invertebrates, consisting of a sac-like structure containing a statolith and numerous innervated setae. Ancestral to vertebrate otolith (their organ of hearing and balance).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.