distinctive chain of small bones characteristic of fish of the superorder Ostariophysi (ostariophysan) (carps, characins, minnows, suckers, loaches, catfish, and others). The Weberian apparatus consists of four pairs of bones, called ossicles, derived from the vertebrae immediately following the skull. The bones link the swim bladder and inner ear and serve to enhance hearing by conducting pressure changes produced by externally originating sound waves from the swim bladder to the ear.