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Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates / Edition 1

Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates / Edition 1

by J. G. M. Hans Thewissen, Sirpa Nummela
Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates / Edition 1
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ISBN-10:
0520252780
ISBN-13:
9780520252783
Pub. Date:
02/04/2008
Publisher:
University of California Press
ISBN-10:
0520252780
ISBN-13:
9780520252783
Pub. Date:
02/04/2008
Publisher:
University of California Press
Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates / Edition 1

Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates / Edition 1

by J. G. M. Hans Thewissen, Sirpa Nummela

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780520252783
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 02/04/2008
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 358
Sales rank: 946,315
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

J. G. M. Thewissen, Professor of Anatomy at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, is editor of The Emergence of Whales: Evolutionary Patterns in the Origin of Whales and coeditor, with William F. Perrin and B. Würsig, of The Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Sirpa Nummela is Academy Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki in Finland.

Table of Contents

Contributors     vii
Introduction: On Becoming Aquatic     1
Chemical Senses
The Physics and Biology of Olfaction and Taste     29
The Chemical Stimulus and Its Detection     35
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Chemical Senses in Amphibians     43
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Chemical Senses in Nonavian Aquatic Reptiles     65
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Chemical Senses in Aquatic Birds     83
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Chemical Senses in Aquatic Mammals     95
Vision
The Physics of Light in Air and Water     113
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Vision in Aquatic Tetrapods     121
Structure and Function of the Retina in Aquatic Tetrapods     149
Hearing
The Physics of Sound in Air and Water     175
Comparative Anatomy and Function of Hearing in Aquatic Amphibians, Reptiles, and Birds     183
Hearing in Aquatic Mammals     211
Balance
The Physics and Physiology of Balance     227
Comparative and Functional Anatomy of Balance in Aquatic Reptiles and Birds     233
Comparative and Functional Anatomy of Balance in Aquatic Mammals     257
Mechanoreception
The Physics and Physiology of Mechanoreception     287
Mechanoreception in Secondarily AquaticVertebrates     295
Magnetoreception and Electroreception
Magnetoreception     317
Electroreception     325
Toward an Integrative Approach     333
Index     341
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