Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic VertebratesJ. G. M. Hans Thewissen, Sirpa Nummela From crocodiles and penguins to seals and whales, this comprehensive and authoritative synthesis explores the function and evolution of sensory systems in animals whose ancestors lived on land. Together, the contributors explore the dramatic transformation of smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, mechanoreception, magnetoreception, and electroreception that occurred as lineages of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals returned to aquatic environments. Each chapter integrates data from fields including sensory physiology, anatomy, paleontology, and neurobiology. A one-stop source for information on the sense organs of secondarily aquatic tetrapods, Sensory Evolution on the Threshold sheds new light on both the evolution of aquatic vertebrates and the sensory biology of their astonishing transition. |
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acoustic acuity adaptations amphibians Anatomy animals aquatic tetrapods auditory avian behavior Biology birds bone brain cetaceans chemical senses chemosensory cone cornea crocodilians Dehnhardt detection dolphin epithelium evolution evolutionary fish foraging frequencies frogs function ganglion cell glands hair cells hydrodynamic ichthyosaurs inner ear Journal of Comparative Ketten Kröger lateral canal lizards main olfactory mammalian mammals Marine Mammals mechanism mechanoreception middle ear middle ear cavity morphology mosasaurs mysticetes nasal cavity nerve Nummela odontocetes odorant olfaction olfactory bulb olfactory epithelium olfactory organ otariids oval window papillae penguins pheromones phocids Physiology pinnipeds platypus posterior pressure prey relatively reptiles retina Schwenk sea turtles seal secondarily aquatic semiaquatic semicircular canals semicircular ducts sensitivity sensory sirenians snakes sound species Spoor squamates stapes stimulate structure surface taste buds taxa terrestrial tetrapods Thewissen tion tympanic membrane underwater hearing vertebrates vestibular vibrissae vision visual pigments vomeronasal organ vomeronasal system whales Xenopus Zoology