Intraspecific variation and symmetry of the inner-ear labyrinth in a population of wild turkeys: implications for paleontological reconstructions.

ABSTRACT: The cochlea and semicircular canals (SCCs) of the inner ear are vital neurosensory devices. There are associations between the anatomy of these sensorineural structures, their function, and the function of related biological systems, for example, hearing ability, gaze stabilization, locomotor agility, and posture. The endosseous labyrinth is frequently used as a proxy to infer the performance of the hearing and vestibular systems, locomotor abilities, and ecology of extinct species. Such fossil inferences are often based on single specimens or even a single ear, representing an entire species. To address whether a single ear is representative of a population, we used geometric morphometrics to quantitatively assess the variation in shape and symmetry in a sample of endosseous labyrinths of

SUBMITTER: Cerio DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6659666 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature