Evolutionary origins of ultrasonic hearing and laryngeal echolocation in bats inferred from morphological analyses of the inner ear.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Many mammals have evolved highly adapted hearing associated with ecological specialisation. Of these, bats possess the widest frequency range of vocalisations and associated hearing sensitivities, with frequencies of above 200 kHz in some lineages that use laryngeal echolocation. High frequency hearing in bats appears to have evolved via structural modifications of the inner ear, however, studying these minute features presents considerable challenges and hitherto few such attempts have been made. To understand these adaptations more fully, as well as gain insights into the evolutionary origins of ultrasonic hearing and echolocation in bats, we undertook micro-computed tomography (μCT) scans of the cochleae of representative bat species from 16 families, encompassing t

SUBMITTER: Davies KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3598973 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature