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The Tympanal Recess of the Cetacean Cochlea: Function and Evolution

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Abstract

Cetaceans (whales and dolphins) primarily use sound to communicate and hunt for prey. Their auditory anatomy is highly specialised, but much about its function remains unknown. In particular, a feature of the cochlea known as the tympanal recess present in some mysticetes (baleen whales) and odontocetes (toothed whales) has defied functional explanation. Here, we present and discuss several hypotheses that may clarify the function and evolution of the tympanal recess. One potential function in particular, the vibroacoustic duct mechanism, seems most plausible although further work is needed to test the hypothesis, which hints at the possibility of sperm whales and beaked whales being able to detect both high and low frequencies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Karen Roberts, Katie Date and David Pickering (Museums Victoria) for access to Museums Victoria collections, as well as Will Gates (Monash University X-ray Microscopy Facility for Imaging Geo-materials) and Rob Williams (Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit) for their help in digitising the specimens. Felix Marx (Monash University) is also thanked for helpful discussions. This research was supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project LP150100403 to A.R.E. and E.M.G.F.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Travis Park & Alistair R. Evans

  2. Geosciences, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Travis Park, Erich M. G. Fitzgerald & Alistair R. Evans

  3. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA

    Erich M. G. Fitzgerald

  4. Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK

    Erich M. G. Fitzgerald

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  1. Travis Park
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Correspondence to Travis Park.

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Park, T., Fitzgerald, E.M.G. & Evans, A.R. The Tympanal Recess of the Cetacean Cochlea: Function and Evolution. Acoust Aust 45, 273–278 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40857-017-0104-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40857-017-0104-9

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