statocyst

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UK/ˈstatə(ʊ)sɪst/

noun

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).

First used 19th c.Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounstatocyst (plural statocysts)

plural statocysts

  1. biologyAn 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).First known use 19th c.

    Despite their tiny size, statocysts encode significant information about an animal's buoyancy and swimming ability, as we know from studying statocyst variability among modern cephalopods.

    2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 110

Origin

From stato- + cyst.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

statocyst. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/statocyst

MLA

“statocyst.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/statocyst. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “statocyst,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/statocyst.

Source: statocyst on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.