Into the dark: patterns of middle ear adaptations in subterranean eulipotyphlan mammals.

ABSTRACT: Evolution of the middle ear ossicles was a key innovation for mammals, enhancing the transmission of airborne sound. Radiation into various habitats from a terrestrial environment resulted in diversification of the auditory mechanisms among mammals. However, due to the paucity of phylogenetically controlled investigations, how middle ear traits have diversified with functional specialization remains unclear. In order to identify the respective patterns for various lifestyles and to gain insights into fossil forms, we employed a high-resolution tomography technique and compared the middle ear morphology of eulipotyphlan species (moles, shrews and hedgehogs), a group that has radiated into various environments, such as terrestrial, aquatic and subterranean habitats. Three-dimensional geometr

SUBMITTER: Koyabu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5627103 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature