‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures

The vestibular system of the inner ear is a crucial sensory organ, involved in the sensation of balance and equilibrium. It consists of three semicircular canals that sense angular rotations of the head and the vestibule that detects linear acceleration and gravity. The vestibule often contains stru...

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Autores principales: Schwab, Julia A., Young, Mark T., Walsh, Stig A., Witmer, Lawrence M., Herrera, Laura Yanina, Timmons, Zena L., Butler, Ian B., Brusatte, Stephen L.
Formato: Articulo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2022
Materias:
Paleontología
Biología
Crocodylia
Inner ear
Ontogeny
Otolith
Vestibular system
Acceso en línea:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/154612
Aporte de:
SEDICI (UNLP) de Universidad Nacional de La Plata
id I19-R120-10915-154612
record_format dspace
spelling I19-R120-10915-1546122023-06-23T20:08:29Z http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/154612 issn:2054-5703 ‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures Schwab, Julia A. Young, Mark T. Walsh, Stig A. Witmer, Lawrence M. Herrera, Laura Yanina Timmons, Zena L. Butler, Ian B. Brusatte, Stephen L. 2022 2023-06-23T15:00:01Z en Paleontología Biología Crocodylia Inner ear Ontogeny Otolith Vestibular system The vestibular system of the inner ear is a crucial sensory organ, involved in the sensation of balance and equilibrium. It consists of three semicircular canals that sense angular rotations of the head and the vestibule that detects linear acceleration and gravity. The vestibule often contains structures, known as the otoliths or ‘ear stones’. Otoliths are present in many vertebrates and are particularly well known from the fossil record of fish, but surprisingly have not been described in detail in most tetrapods, living or extinct. Here, we present for the first time a survey of the otoliths of a broad sample of extant crocodylian species, based on computed tomography scans. We find that otoliths are present in numerous crocodylian species of different growth stages, and they continue to increase in size during ontogeny, with positive allometry compared to skull length. Our results confirm that otoliths are a common component of the crocodylian vestibular system, and suggest they play an important role in sensory detection. Otoliths are likely common, but overlooked, constituents of the inner ear in tetrapods, and a broader study of their size, shape and distribution promises insight into sensory abilities. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo Articulo Articulo http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) application/pdf
institution Universidad Nacional de La Plata
institution_str I-19
repository_str R-120
collection SEDICI (UNLP)
language Inglés
topic Paleontología
Biología
Crocodylia
Inner ear
Ontogeny
Otolith
Vestibular system
spellingShingle Paleontología
Biología
Crocodylia
Inner ear
Ontogeny
Otolith
Vestibular system
Schwab, Julia A.
Young, Mark T.
Walsh, Stig A.
Witmer, Lawrence M.
Herrera, Laura Yanina
Timmons, Zena L.
Butler, Ian B.
Brusatte, Stephen L.
‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
topic_facet Paleontología
Biología
Crocodylia
Inner ear
Ontogeny
Otolith
Vestibular system
description The vestibular system of the inner ear is a crucial sensory organ, involved in the sensation of balance and equilibrium. It consists of three semicircular canals that sense angular rotations of the head and the vestibule that detects linear acceleration and gravity. The vestibule often contains structures, known as the otoliths or ‘ear stones’. Otoliths are present in many vertebrates and are particularly well known from the fossil record of fish, but surprisingly have not been described in detail in most tetrapods, living or extinct. Here, we present for the first time a survey of the otoliths of a broad sample of extant crocodylian species, based on computed tomography scans. We find that otoliths are present in numerous crocodylian species of different growth stages, and they continue to increase in size during ontogeny, with positive allometry compared to skull length. Our results confirm that otoliths are a common component of the crocodylian vestibular system, and suggest they play an important role in sensory detection. Otoliths are likely common, but overlooked, constituents of the inner ear in tetrapods, and a broader study of their size, shape and distribution promises insight into sensory abilities.
format Articulo
Articulo
author Schwab, Julia A.
Young, Mark T.
Walsh, Stig A.
Witmer, Lawrence M.
Herrera, Laura Yanina
Timmons, Zena L.
Butler, Ian B.
Brusatte, Stephen L.
author_facet Schwab, Julia A.
Young, Mark T.
Walsh, Stig A.
Witmer, Lawrence M.
Herrera, Laura Yanina
Timmons, Zena L.
Butler, Ian B.
Brusatte, Stephen L.
author_sort Schwab, Julia A.
title ‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
title_short ‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
title_full ‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
title_fullStr ‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
title_full_unstemmed ‘Ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
title_sort ‘ear stones’ in crocodylians: a cross-species comparative and ontogenetic survey of otolith structures
publishDate 2022
url http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/154612
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