The auditory anatomy of the Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata): Insights into potential sound reception pathways in a baleen whale
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Title | The auditory anatomy of the Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata): Insights into potential sound reception pathways in a baleen whale |
Publication Type | Conference Paper |
Year of Publication | 2011 |
Authors | Yamato, M., D. R. Ketten, J. J. Arruda, S. R. Cramer, and K. Moore |
Conference Name | 19th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals |
Pagination | 319 |
Date Published | 11/2011 |
Publisher | Society for Marine Mammology |
Conference Location | Tampa, FL |
Keywords | auditory anatomy, balaenoptera acutorostrata, baleen whale hearing, marine mammal hearing, minke whale, sound reception pathway |
Abstract | Ken Norris first described a potential mandibular sound reception pathway in odontocetes in 1964. To date, sound reception paths in mysticetes remain unknown. To understand hearing mechanisms in baleen whales, a thorough examination of their auditory anatomy is required. This study combines classical dissection with biomed1cal imaging techniques such as X-ray, computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) to describe the anatomy of the Minke Whale head with a focus on the ear region. |
Full Text | Ken Norris first described a potential mandibular sound reception pathway in odontocetes in 1964. To date, sound reception paths in mysticetes remain unknown. To understand hearing mechanisms in baleen whales, a thorough examination of their auditory anatomy is required. This study combines classical dissection with biomed1cal imaging techniques such as X-ray, computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) to describe the anatomy of the minke whale head with a focus on the ear region. Six individuals have been examined to date. Findings include a large, well-formed fat body adjacent to the posterior mandibular ramus and lateral to the tympano-periotic complex. This structure tapers medially, attaching to the tympano-periotic complex near the base of the tympanic membrane. The fats appear to be continuous with a smaller fat pad within the tympanic cavity, contiguous to the tympanic membrane and ossicles. Odontocetes receive sound via distinctive perimandibular fats that lead to a similar region of the tympano-periotic complex. While a fat body in baleen whales has been described in the context of the temporo-mandibular joint (Beauregard, 1882; Lambertsen et al., 1995), its relationship with the ears and auditory implications were not the focus of prior functional analyses. Notably, the majority of the tympanic bone is surrounded by a thick, fibrous, multi-layered connective tissue adjacent to the peribullar tissue dorsally. This fibrous tissue may serve as an acoustic baffle limiting incoming sound from locations other than the fat body. References: Beauregard, H. 1882. L'articulation temporomaxillaire chez les Cetaces. Journal de l'Anatomie et de la Physiologie, 18:16-26. Lambertsen R, Ulrich N, Straley J. 1995. Frontomandibular Stay of Balaenopteridae: A Mechanism for Momentum Recapture during Feeding. Journal of Mammalogy 76:877-899. |
- anatomy
- auditory
- auditory anatomy
- auditory system
- balaenoptera
- balaenoptera acutorostrata
- Baleen
- baleen whale
- baleen whale hearing
- Baleen whales
- Biology
- biomed1cal imaging techniques
- body
- cetaceans
- Common Minke Whale
- complex
- computerized tomography
- ear
- Eardrum
- fat body
- Fauna of Ireland
- functional analyses
- incoming sound
- Journal of Mammalogy
- Ken Norris
- magnetic resonance imaging
- mandibular ramus
- marine mammal hearing
- Megafauna
- minke
- minke whale
- minke whale head
- odontocetes
- reception
- sound
- sound reception
- sound reception pathway
- straley
- tissue
- tomography
- Toothed whale
- tympanic bone
- tympanic cavity
- tympanic membrane
- tympano
- whale
- whale head
- x-ray
- Zoology