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. [3], D. R. Ketten [4], J. J. Arruda [5], S. R. Cramer [6], and K. Moore [7] |
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 [8], balaenoptera acutorostrata [9], baleen whale hearing [10], marine mammal hearing [11], minke whale [12], sound reception pathway [13] |
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. |
Links:
[1] http://csi.whoi.edu/biblio/auditory-anatomy-minke-whale-balaenoptera-acutorostrata-insights-potential-sound-reception-pa
[2] http://csi.whoi.edu/sites/default/files/literature/4496_001%203.pdf
[3] http://csi.whoi.edu/biblio/author/6
[4] http://csi.whoi.edu/biblio/author/4
[5] http://csi.whoi.edu/biblio/author/9
[6] http://csi.whoi.edu/biblio/author/8
[7] http://csi.whoi.edu/biblio/author/311
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