Adelaide researchers have made a world
breakthrough in treating premature babies
at risk of developmental disorders.

A six-year study led by Dr Maria Makrides
from the Women's & Children's Health Research
Institute and Professor Bob Gibson from the
University of Adelaide has demonstrated that
high doses of fatty acids administered to
pre-term infants via their mother's breast
milk or infant formula can help their
mental development.

Researchers found that a major lipid in the
brain - the omega-3 fatty acid known as
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - is not developed
sufficiently in babies born before 33 weeks'
gestation, leading to possible impaired
mental development.


ScienceDaily Jan. 14, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090114092844.htm

----------------------------



First congratulations to those involved at Adelaide
University, for this remarkable breakthrough in the
treatment of premature babies.

Second if more evidence was needed, this remarkable
breakthrough proves once more how essential DHA is
for the development of the human brain and how
crucial easy access to a source of DHA was for the
evolution of the human animal.

Probably the shore-ancestors of man some two million
years ago or more, would have obtained more DHA
foraging on the shore than running down and cracking
open the skull of a rhino, to get a gram or two on
the mythical savanna.



---m3d

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/MarineMammals/cetaceans_anatomy.htm

Aroyan JL 2001
Three-dimensional modeling of hearing in Delphinus delphis
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 110: 3305-18
... Models of the forehead & lower jaw tissues of Delphinus delphis were
created, to simulate the bio-sonar emission & hearing processes ...
observations concerning the mechanisms of acoustic reception ...:
(1) The left & right mandibular fat bodies were found to channel sound
incident from forward directions to the left & right tympanic bulla, and to
create sharp maxima against the lateral surfaces of each respective bulla.
(2) The soft tissues of the lower jaw improved the forward directivity of
the simulated receptivity patterns.
(3) A focal property of the lower-jaw pan bones appeared to contribute to
the creation of distinct forward receptivity peaks for each ear.
(4) The reception patterns contained features that may correspond to lateral
hearing pathways.  A "fast" lens mechanism is proposed to explain the focal
contribution of the pan bones in this dolphin.




Bodyak ND & LV Stepanova 1994
Harderian gland ultrastructure of the black sea bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops
truncatus ponticus)
Journal of Morphology 220: 207-221
... significant sexual dimorphism.  The epithelial cells of male & female
glands are different cell types, capable of producing chemically different
products.  Secretory cells in both sexes contain secretion granules that
produce a secretion consisting mainly of proteins & carbohydrates, but
thought to be sex-specific in composition.  The female glands also contain
lipid secretion granules ...  in the bottlenose dolphin the Harderian gland
functions to produce sexually distinct pheromones and may have other
physiological activities, eg., participating in local immunological or
endocrine-related reactions?




Bouetel V 2005
Phylogenetic implications of skull structure and feeding behavior in
balaenopterids (Cetacea, Mysticeti)
Journal of Mammalogy 86: 139-146
     Balaenopteridae actively feed by engulfment. They swim rapidly at their
prey (40-50 km/h), with their mouth open and their lower jaw pulled wide
open at a 90° angle. Their mouth & ventral pouch engulf up to 60 m3 of
water, then the mouth closes , food is swallowed after the expulsion of
water through the baleen. These highly specialized feeding mechanisms are
associated with a developed ascending process of the maxilla & a hooklike &
outwardly bent coronoid process of the dentary. These features participate
in the strengthening of the architecture of the skull & jaw. Although all
fossil baleen mysticetes bear a developed coronoid process, only 6 taxa
(Piscobalaena nana. Cetotherium rathkei, Herpetocetus sendaicus, Metopocetus
durinasus, Mixocetus elysius, Nannocetus eremus) have a postero-medially
expanded ascending process of the maxilla. Feeding strategies & mechanisms
of each extant family of baleen whales are compared & correlated with the
associated skull & dentary features. This correlation suggests a preliminary
phylogeny of the mysticetes & a new definition of the Cetotheriidae s.s.
(Piscobalaena nana, Cetotherium rathkei, Herpetocetus sendaicus, Metopocetus
durinasus, Mixocetus elysius, Nannocetus eremus).







Dunkin RC, WA McLellan, JE Blum & DA Pabst 2005
The ontogenetic changes in the thermal properties of blubber from Atlantic
bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 1469-80
... Blubber from sub-adults & pregnant females had the highest insulation
values ; fetuses & emaciated animals had the lowest. In nutritionally
dependent life history categories, changes in blubber's thermal insulation
were characterized by stable blubber quality (ie. conductivity) & increased
blubber quantity (ie. thickness). In nutritionally independent animals,
blubber quantity remained stable while blubber quality varied. A final,
unexpected observation was that heat flux measurements at the deep blubber
surface were significantly higher than that at the superficial surface, a
pattern not observed in control materials. This apparent ability to absorb
heat, coupled with blubber's fatty acid composition, suggest that dolphin
integument may function as a phase change material.



Elsner R, JC George and T O'Hara 2004
Vasomotor responses of isolated peripheral blood vessels from bowhead
whales: thermoregulatory implications
Marine Mammal Science 20: 546-553
         Tp regulation in Balaena mysticetus is supported by the
characteristic cetacean peripheral circulation, esp.in the tail flukes.
Blood vessels serving this function consist of countercurrent heat
exchangers (network of veins surrounding a central artery) favoring heat
conservation and an alternate routing via arterio-venous anastomoses (AVAs)
providing for heat dissipation. We tested the vasomotor responses of
isolated segments of CC arteries & AVAs from the bowhead tail flukes to
norepinepbrine (NOR, the sympathetic adrenergic neurotransmitter). Isometric
tension developed during exposure to a micromolar concentration of NOR was
consistently higher in AVAs than in arteries. Accordingly, the AVAs are
subject to sympathetic vasoconstriction, and this activation directs blood
flow to countercurrent heat exchangers and results in heat conservation. In
contrast, AVA relaxation by reduced sympathetic activation favors increased
blood flow through AVAs and consequent peripheral heat loss.
Descriptors: biosynchronization, blood and lymphatics, transport and
circulation, chemical coordination and homeostasis, blood flow,
countercurrent heat exchange, heat conservation, heat dissipation, isometric
tension, sympathetic vasoconstriction, thermoregulation, vasomotor
responses.




Fish FE 2000
Biomechanics and energetics in aquatic and semiaquatic mammals:
platypus to whale
  Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 73: 683-698
... To locomote & thermoregulate in the aqueous medium, mammals developed a
range of morphological, physiological & behavioral adaptations. A distinct
difference in the suite of adaptations, which affects energetics, is
apparent between semi- & fully aquatic mammals.
- Semi-aquatic mammals swim by paddling, which is inefficient compared to
the use of oscillating hydrofoils of aquatic mammals.
- Semi-aquatic mammals swim at the water surface and experience a greater
resistive force augmented by wave drag than submerged aquatic mammals.
- A dense non-wettable fur insulates semi-aquatic mammals ; aquatic mammals
use a layer of blubber. The fur, while providing insulation & positive
buoyancy, incurs a high energy demand for maintenance and limits diving
depth. Blubber contours the body to reduce drag, is an energy reserve, and
suffers no loss in buoyancy with depth.
Despite the high energetic costs of a semi-aquatic existence, these animals
represent modern analogs of evolutionary intermediates between ancestral
terrestrial mammals & their fully aquatic descendants. It is these
intermediate animals that indicate which potential selection factors and
mechanical constraints may have directed the evolution of more derived
aquatic forms.





Heyning JE & JG Mead 1997
Thermoregulation in the mouths of feeding gray whales
Science 278: 1138-9
... Numerous individual CC heat exchangers are found throughout the massive
tongue. These converge at the base of the tongue to form a bilateral pair of
retia.  Tp measurements from the oral cavity of a live gray whale indicate :
more heat may be lost through the blubber layer over the body than through
the tongue, despite the fact that the tongue is far more vascularized and
has much less insulation.




Hokkanen JE 1990
Temperature regulation of marine mammals
Journal of Theoretical Biology 145: 465-485
... mathematical model ...  For the whales, blood circulation to the dermal
layer below appendage & body skin surfaces proved to be essential for
sufficient heat dissipation. When decreasing the blood flow below a certain
value (dependent on sea Tp & whale activity) the large whales would
overheat. Blubber thickness was found to be of minor importance in whale
thermoregulation : the blubber coat can be bypassed by blood circulation.
OTOH it is in general not possible for small porpoises & seals to stay warm
in the coldest waters using normal mammalian resting metabolic rates, even
if the peripheral circulation is shut off (or artery-vein heat exchangers
used). Heat loss can be reduced if the outermost tissue layers are allowed
to cool. This is achieved by minimizing convective radial heat flow via the
circulation. (For large whales even minute radial blood flow raises the
muscle Tps to the core temperature level.) Seasonal acclimatization of
harbour seals is explained by changes in their effective insulation
thickness.
Differences in whale activity induce changes in the Tp profile mainly within
the first few centimeters from the skin surface. These superficial Tps, if
known, could be used to estimate whale metabolic rates. Since they drop
close to the sea water temperature within minutes after whale death, the
measurements should be done of live whales.




Houser DS, J Finneran, D Carder, W Van Bonn, C Smith, C Hoh, R Mattrey & S
Ridgway 2004
Structural and functional imaging of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
cranial anatomy
Journal of Experimental Biology 207: 3657-3665
     ... Relationships of air spaces to the auditory bullae & phonic lips
support previous hypotheses : air protects the ears from echo-location
clicks generated by the dolphin and contributes to dolphin hearing
capabilities (eg, minimum angular resolution, inter-aural intensity
differences).
Lung air may replenish reductions in sinus & nasal passage air volume via
the palato-pharyngeal sphincter, thus permitting the echolocation mechanism
to operate at depth. ...
Substantial blood flow was noted across the dorso-anterior curvature of the
melon and within the posterior region of the lower jaw fats. Metabolism of
these tissues relative to others within the head was nominal. It is
suggested : blood flow in these fat bodies serves to thermoregulate lipid
density of the melon & jaw canal?  Sound velocity is inversely related to
the Tp of acoustic lipids (decreasing lipid density) ; changes in lipid Tp
are likely to impact the wave guide properties of the sound projection &
reception pathways. Thermoregulation of lipid density may maintain sound
velocity gradients of the acoustic lipid complexes, particularly in the
outer shell of the melon, which otherwise might vary in response to changing
environmental Tps.



Klima M 1999
Development of the cetacean nasal skull
Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology 149: 1-143
... 3 marked changes from the original relations found in land mammals:
(1) the loss of the sense of smell,
(2) translocation of the nostrils from the tip of the rostrum to the vertex
of the head,
(3) elongation of the anterior head to form a rostrum protruding far towards
anterior.
The morphogenetic processes taking place during embryogenesis of the nasal
skull play a decisive part in the development of all these changes. The
lateral parts of the embryonic nasal capsule, encompassing the nasal
passages, change their position from horizontal to vertical. At the same
time, the structures of the original nasal floor (the solum nasi) are
shifted in front of the nasal passages towards the rostrum. The structures
of the original nasal roof (the tectum nasi) & of the nasal side wall (the
paries nasi) are translocated behind the nasal passages towards the
neurocranium. The medial nasal septum (the septum nasi) mostly loses its
connection to the nasal passages and is produced into a point protruding far
towards anterior. The transformed embryonic nasal skull of the Cetacea can
be divided into 3 sections:
1. The median structures incl.the cartilaginous structures (rostrum nasi,
septum inter-orbitale, spina mesethmoidalis) accompanied by the dermal bones
(vomer, praemaxillare).  In adult cetaceans the rostrum nasi is mostly
preserved as a robust cartilage of the skull (serves as a sound transmitting
structure of the sonar system? or is responsible for the sensing of water
streams & vibrations?).
2. The posterior side wall structures incl.cartilaginous structures that are
mostly heavily reduced or mutually fused (cupula nasi anterior, tectum nasi,
lamina cribrosa, paries nasi, commissura orbito-nasalis, cupula nasi
posterior, processus paraseptalis posterior, crista semicircularis,
fronto-turbinale, ethmoturbinale I, maxillo-turbinale). The cartilaginous
structures are largely accompanied by the dermal bone (maxillare).  Of these
embryonic elements, very little is preserved in adult cetaceans. The
cartilages of the cupula nasi anterior form the variable skeleton around the
nostrils. In Physeter the tectum nasi forms a very long cartilaginous bar
that passes through the whole giant anterior head of the sperm whale as a
structure accompanying the left nasal passage.
3. The anterior side wall structures incl.the cartilaginous structures
(cartilago ductus naso-palatini, cartilago paraseptalis, processus lateralis
ventralis, lamina transversalis anterior) accompanied by the dermal bones
(praemaxillare, vomer).  These structures participate in the formation of
the robust rostrum of the cetacean skull, they are partly preserved even in
adults in the form of the isolated ossa pararostralia (the Meckelian
ossicles).
The comparison of morphogeny of the nasal skull has also made it possible to
draw certain conclusions on the phylogeny & systematics of Cetacea.
Already the earliest embryonic stages permit us to discern weighty
transformations of the original nasal skull of land mammals. This indicates
a common origin of all Cetacea, which thus form a single monophyletic order.
However, later embryonic stages show some different modifications of the
nasal capsule according to which at least 3 major groups can be
distinguished within the order Cetacea, probably ranking as superfamilies:
- Balaenopteroidea,
- Physeteroidea,
- Delphinoidea.
Our observations, being in full accordance with other morphological, and
embryological, as well as molecular biological results, suggest that the
division of the order Cetacea into two suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti,
is no longer tenable.



Koopman HN, SJ Iverson & DE Gaskin 1996
Stratification and age-related differences in blubber fatty acids of the
male harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and
Environmental Physiology 165: 628-639
     ... FA composition of blubber was determined at 4 body sites of 19 male
harbour porpoises. A total of 65 FAs were quantified in each sample. The
array of FAs contained in harbour porpoise blubber was similar to those
found in other marine mammals. While chemical composition of total blubber
was uniform over the body (with the exception of the caudal peduncle),
vertical stratification was evident between the deep & superficial blubber
layers:
- FAs with chain lengths shorter than 18 carbons were present in
significantly greater amounts in the outer blubber layer,
- the longer-chain unsaturated FAs were more prevalent in the inner layer.
: the inner blubber layer is more active metabolically than the outer layer
in terms of lipid deposition & mobilization?  The degree of stratification
between the 2 layers appears to increase with age, indicating a predictable
turnover in the blubber layer of male porpoises. Harbour porpoise blubber
contained high levels (2-27 %) of isovaleric acid in the outer blubber
layer, and these levels were positively correlated with age.


Koopman HN, SJ Iverson & AJ Read 2003
High concentrations of isovaleric acid in the fats of odontocetes: variation
and patterns of accumulation in blubber vs. stability in the melon
Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and
Environmental Physiology 173: 247-261
... Isovaleric acid (iso5:0) is an unusual FA that is important for
echolocation & hearing in acoustic tissues of some odontocetes, but its
functional significance in blubber is unknown. We examined patterns of
accumulation of this compound in blubber in 30 spp of odontocetes (n=299).
Iso5:0 concentrations in blubber varied with phylogeny, ontogeny & body
topography.
Iso5:0 accumulated in greater quantities in superficial/outer blubber than
in deep/inner blubber. In the outer blubber of northern right whale and
Hector's dolphins, iso5:0 accounted for 1/3 to 1/2 of all FAs.
Total blubber burden of iso5:0 in harbour porpoises represented up to 15
times the amount deposited in the melon. The composition of the melon does
not change during starvation in harbour porpoises, supporting the hypothesis
that lipids in melon are conserved for a specific function. Some odontocetes
continually deposit iso5:0 in blubber after levels in melon have reached
asymptotic levels, suggesting independent control of iso5:0 synthesis &
storage in these compartments. Dolphins & porpoises inhabiting cold waters
possess higher concentrations of iso5:0 in their outer blubber layers than
spp from warmer regions.
We propose that this relationship represents an adaptive secondary role for
iso5:0 in maintaining blubber flexibility in cold environments.





Lambertsen RH, KJ Rasmussen, WC Lancaster and RJ Hintz 2005
Functional morphology of the mouth of the bowhead whale and its implications
for conservation
Journal of Mammalogy 86: 342-352
... Anatomical observations confirmed the occurrence of a large well-muscled
tongue. Temporo-mandibular articulations were synovial. The mandibular
symphysis was unfused. Standard measurement of baleen plates & close-range
photogrammetry confirmed : the anterior portion of the baleen rack is
strongly convex, in contrast to its shape in balaenopterids. Moderate force
applied to the lower lip in a lateral direction caused a pronounced
abduction of the lower jaw.  These observations support : during feeding,
the tongue may deflect the incoming flow of prey-laden water from side to
side in the mouth, to convey prey slurries into the post-lingual recess.
Abduction of the lower lip likely would establish a channel for acceleration
of flow around the outside of the baleen racks, reducing external pressures
and drawing water out through the baleen. Thus, the shape of the baleen rack
in the bowhead appears to be an adaptation to reduce the amplitude of the
bow wave projected during feeding, the simultaneous advantage being
concentration of prey slurries inside the mouth. It may also impart a
configuration to the bow wave that stimulates counter-effective evasive
effort by actively mobile prey. Final compaction of a concentrated prey
slurry in the post-lingual recess probably involves retraction of the tongue
against the oro-pharyngeal wall. These insights notably enable consideration
of certain threats to bowheads and right whales (Balaenidae) associated with
oil spills and oral entanglement. ...





Lees S, DB Hanson & EA Page 1996
Some acoustical properties of the otic bones of a fin whale
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 99:2421-7
...  The otic bones in this report are the tympanic bulla, the periotic &
the 3 ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) ...  in one male adult fin whale the
density of all the otic bones is +-the same, 2.50 kg/m3 with a maximum of
2.58. The lowest density was observed in the stapes (2.36). The sonic
velocity seems to vary as the density, but there also seems to be a
structural effect. The maximum sonic velocity was 4.89 km/s in the malleus.
The specific acoustic impedance was as high as 12.5 megarayles in the
periotic.
These values compare with those for human femur of 1.95 for the density,
3.73 for the sonic velocity, 7.33 for the specific acoustic impedance.
The ossicles weigh as much as 200 x as much as human ossicles.
The density of whale ossicles are c 10 % greater than human ossicles.
The mechanical natural frequency of the whale ossicles must be very low.
The approximate uniformity of the properties of this whale's otic bones may
be characteristic of the middle ear.
The density of the otic bones of land mammals is less than for whales.
The density of the horse petrosal (2.29 g/cc) is essentially the same as the
density of adult human ossicles (2.23-2.27 g/cc).
The high density of the otic bones for all mammals suggests it may be
related to hearing acuity perhaps by increasing the specific acoustic
impedance, which increases the acoustic contrast with the other body
tissues.



Levenson DH & A Dizon 2003
Genetic evidence for the ancestral loss of short-wavelength-sensitive cone
pigments in mysticete and odontocete cetaceans
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences
270: 673-679


Litwiler TL & TW Cronin 2001
No evidence of accommodation in the eyes of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops
truncatus
Marine Mammal Science 17: 508-525




Lyamin OI, PR Manger, LM Mukhametov, JM Siegel & OV Shpak 2000
Rest and activity states in a gray whale
Journal of Sleep Research 9(3): 261-7
      The behaviour of a female Eschrichtius robustus that had been rescued
14 months previously was recorded continuously on a video-recorder for 9
days at 'Sea World' in San Diego.  On average, during the first 6 recording
days, active wakefulness accounted for 37.9 +-1.7 % of each 24 h;
transitional stage for 17.4 +-1.4 % and rest for 41.2 +-1.7 %. In the rest
stage the whale was lying on the bottom of the pool (13.2 +- 1.7 %) or
hanging on the surface (28.0 +-1.7 %). During the rest stage, it was
immobile most of the time and moved only for respiration. In the rest stage
both eyes could be open, one eye could be open while the other was closed
or, more rarely, both eyes could be closed. Characteristic jerks of the
head, neck & sometimes of the whole body were observed in the whale during
the rest stage.  Most jerks were single ; only 10 % of all jerks were serial
(occurring within 10" of a prior jerk). Eyelid movements accompanied 40 % of
jerks. In 2 episodes, intense jerks followed each other continuously for 3
and 4" and were accompanied by eyelid movements. These jerks resembled the
twitches characteristic of paradoxical sleep in terrestrial mammals. During
these episodes the whale was falling slowly onto its side and subsequently
started to swim in the pool.


Lyamin OI, LM Mukhametov and JM Siegel 2004
Relationship between sleep and eye state in Cetaceans and Pinnipeds
Archives Italiennes De Biologie 142(4): 557-68
      We recorded EEG from both hemispheres and documented the state of the 2
eyes in 1 beluga & 1 bottlenose & 2 northern furseals.
- In the dolphin & beluga, episodes of uni-hemispheric slow wave sleep
(USWS) were associated with asymmetry in eye state. During USWS &
asymmetrical SWS, the eye contralateral to the sleeping hemisphere was
mostly closed or in an intermediate state, while the eye contralateral to
the waking hemisphere was more often open or in an intermediate state.
Bilateral eye opening indicated waking in c 80 % cases ; unilateral eye
closure indicated USWS with an accuracy of c 75 %.  Bilateral eye closure
was rare (< 2% of the observation time) , not necessarily associated with
high amplitude SWS.
- In fur seals, episodes of one eye briefly opening usu.occurred in the
beginning of sleep episodes and lasted several minutes. Those episodes were
frequently associated with lower amplitude EEG slow waves in the
contralateral brain hemisphere.  During most of their sleep on land, fur
seals had both eyes tightly closed.  No EEG asymmetry was recorded at this
time.
Although eye state & EEG stage are correlated in the bottlenose dolphin,
beluga & fur seals, short episodes of EEG synchrony (<1') occur
contralateral to an open eye and waking (a more activated EEG) activity can
be present contralateral to a closed eye.
The available data suggest : 2 functions of USWS/EEG asymmetry during SWS in
Cetaceans & fur seals are
- multi-sensory control of the environment and
- maintenance of motion & postures of sleep.
The adaptive advantages of USWS throughout the evolution of Cetaceans &
Pinnipeds from terrestrial mammals to present forms could include
1) avoidance of predators ; maintenance of contact with other animals of the
same species;
2) continuance of regular breathing;
3) effective thermoregulation in the water environment.





MacLeod CD 2002
Possible functions of the ultradense bone in the rostrum of blainville's
beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
Canadian Journal of Zoology 80: 178-184


MacLeod CD and JS Herman 2004
Development of tusks and associated structures in Mesoplodon bidens
(Cetaceae [Cetacea], Mammalia)
Mammalia 68: 175-184
... examined the development of the tusks & associated skeletal structures
in 18 specimens of Sowerby's beaked whale. The relative position of the
tusks along the length of the mandible was found to move from 23 % of
mandible length from the anterior extremity in the smallest animal, to c 37
% in adults, due to a lengthening of the symphyseal region.  A previously
undescribed sexual dimorphism was noted, a bony abutment, or ossicular
dental support, situated directly posterior to the erupted tusks of adult
males.  Ontogenetic changes associated with male maturity include
- an increase in tusk length,
- an increase in the length of the alveolus,
- a high level of wear on tusks,
- an increase in the depth of the mandible posterior to the alveolus,
- an increased level of mesorostral ossification,
- an overall thickening of the rostrum & the symphyseal region of the
mandible.
The tusks are presumed to be used in intra-specific aggressive interactions
; the ossicular dental support may counteract backward & outward forces on
them as they cut through an opponents flesh ; the thickening of the rostrum
& mandible may reduce the risk of damage when the two animals make contact.





Marino L, JK Rilling, SK Lin & SH Ridgway 2000
Relative volume of the cerebellum in dolphins and comparison with anthropoid
primates
Brain, Behavior and Evolution 56: 204-211
      According to the 'developmental constraint hypothesis' of comparative
mammalian neuroanatomy, brain growth follows predictable allometric trends :
brain structures should scale to the entire brain in the same way across
mammals. Evidence for a departure from this pattern for cerebellum volume
has recently been reported among the anthropoids ...  Because many Cetacea
possess rel.brain sizes in the range of primates... we compare
rel.cerebellum volumes in the bottlenose & the common dolphin, with
published data from anthropoid primates : relative cerebellum size is
significantly greater in the 2 dolphin spp than in any of the primates
incl.humans : there is possibly expansion of brain structures independent of
strictly allometric processes.



Mauck B, U Eysel & G Dehnhardt 2000
Selective heating of vibrissal follicles in seals (Phoca vitulina) and
dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis guianensis)
Journal of Experimental Biology 203: 2125-31
     ... The thermal characteristics of the mystacial vibrissae of harbour
seals & of the follicle crypts on the rostrum of dolphins were measured
using an infra-red imaging system.  Thermograms demonstrate : in both spp,
single vibrissal follicles are clearly defined units of high thermal
radiation, indicating a separate blood supply to these cutaneous structures.
It is suggested : the high surface Tps measured in the area of the mouth of
the follicles is a function of the sinus system.
In seals & dolphins, surface Tp gradually decreased with increasing distance
from the centre of a follicle, indicating heat conduction from the sinus
system via the follicle capsule to adjacent tissues.
It is suggested : the follicular sinus system is a thermo-regulatory
structure responsible for the maintenance of high tactile sensitivity at the
extremely low ambient Tps demonstrated for the vibrissal system of seals.
The vibrissal follicles of odontocetes have been described as vestigial
structures, but our thermograms provide the first evidence that in Sotalia
fluviatilis the follicles possess a well-developed sinus system, suggesting
that they are part of a functional mechano-sensory system.



Mazzatenta A, M Caleo, NE Baldaccini & L Maffei 2001
A comparative morphometric analysis of the optic nerve in two cetacean
species, the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and fin whale
(Balaenoptera physalus)
Visual Neuroscience 18: 319-25
... 1 fin whale & 1 striped dolphin ... cross sections of the optic nerve :
- Fiber density is c 2-fold lower than in land mammals.
- A corresponding increase in the cross-sectional area occupied by
astrocytes is observed.
- A population of "giant" (up to 15 microm in diameter) optic axons is
present.
: these features probably reflect common adaptations to the constraints
imposed by the aquatic environment?
"Giant" optic axons might ensure short-latency detection of preys & other
targets during navigation.
The increased astro-glial content might be related to the maintenance of
neuronal function during periods of anaerobic metabolism under water.






Melnikov VV 1997 Journal of Morphology 234: 37-50
The arterial system of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
     The angio-architecture of the sperm whale is basically similar to that
of other mammals, but it has specific attributes associated with the aquatic
environment of this animal, & its tolerance for deep & long diving.
Specialized features include
- expansive aortic arch,
- unusually far anterior localization of the arch,
- symmetrical branching of common carotid & subclavian arteries from the
aorta,
- absence of direct connection between internal carotid arteries & brain
arteries,
- absence of a costo-cervical artery,
- presence of a well-developed occipital artery.
The sperm whale has extraordinarily well-developed retia mirabilia,
distributed in the cranial cavity, vertebral canal, neck & thoracic cavity,
around the optic nerve, & in the walls of the uterus. These retia are more
extensively developed in the sperm whale than in any other cetacean
previously studied.






Morgane PJ, II Glezer, and MS Jacobs 1988
Visual cortex of the dolphin: an image analysis study
Journal of Comparative Neurology 273: 3-25
      On cyto-architectonic grounds we have identified 2 distinct types of
cortical formations composing the lateral gyrus (visual cortex) of the
dolphin :
- hetero- (occupies the medial & lateral banks of the entolateral sulcus;
contains an incipient layer IV) &
- homo-laminar cortex (occupies the remainder of the lateral gyrus both
lateral and medial to the entolateral sulcus; layer IV is clearly absent).
      Quantitative imaging procedures reveal that there is greater laminar
differentiation in hetero- than in homolaminar cortex.
Golgi analysis of neuronal forms & dendritic architecture confirms this
distinction between the 2 types of cortex composing the lateral gyrus.
Computer-assisted morphometric methods : Both types exhibit a markedly
higher cellular density in the posterior sector of the lateral gyrus than in
the anterior sector.
We have also for the first time been able to identify a columnar type of
organization of the cetacean visual cortex, and have described 2 types of
cyto-architectonic columns (major & minor) in each of these types of cortex.
Comparisons in organization of these basic columnar units between the bat
(representing a prototypic brain) & the dolphin reveal many similarities,
but also major quantitative differences.
Marked differences are also seen between the cyto-architectonic columnar
organization of the visual cortices in the dolphin & columnar organization
of striate cortex in the human brain, the number of columns per unit of
cortex in the human being almost twice that seen in the dolphin brain.




Nummela S, T Reuter, S Hemila, P Holmberg & P Paukku 1999
The anatomy of the killer whale middle ear (Orcinus orca)
Hearing Research 133: 61-70
  ...CT sections & camera lucida drawings reveal 2 hitherto unknown features
of the odontocete ear:
(1) It is well known that, in addition to the ossicular chain, 2 other bone
structures connect the tympanic to the periotic bone.  We show that the most
delicate parts of these extra-ossicular connections consist of thin & folded
bony sheets which apparently allow compliance in the tympano-periotic bone
contacts and enable plate vibration in relation to the periotic bone.
(2) The round head of the malleus, in combination with a fitting round
depression on the periotic side, seems to form a joint. We propose that this
(hypothetical) joint, together with the adjacent structures, forms a lever
producing an amplification of the vibration velocity at the level of the
oval window.



Nummela S, JG Thewissen, S Bajpai, ST Hussain and K Kumar 2004
Eocene evolution of whale hearing
Nature 430: 776-8
  ... this evolutionary transition took less than 15 My ; different organ
systems followed different evolutionary trajectories. Here we document the
evolutionary changes that took place in the sound transmission mechanism of
the outer & middle ear in early whales. Sound transmission mechanisms change
early on in whale evolution and pass through a stage (pakicetids) in which
hearing in both air & water is unsophisticated. This intermediate stage is
soon abandoned and is replaced (remingtono- & protocetids) by a sound
transmission mechanism similar to that in modern toothed whales. The
mechanism of these fossil whales lacks sophistication, and still retains
some of the key elements that land mammals use to hear airborne sound.



Nummela S, T Wagar, S Hemila & T Reuter 1999
Scaling of the cetacean middle ear
Hearing Research 133: 71-81
     Functionally interesting dimensions of the tympano-periotic complex were
measured & compared in 18 odontocete & 6 mysticete spp (from small porpoises
to the blue whale). We determined
(i) the masses of the tympanic & periotic bones (T, P) & of the ossicles
malleus, incus & stapes (M, I, S),
(ii) the volume occupied by the tympanic bone (V),
(iii) the areas of the tympanic plate & oval window (A1, A2),
(iv) the thickness of the tympanic plate (D),
(v) the densities of the ossicles (dM, dI, dS).
In most cases, roughly isometric scaling was found in both toothed & baleen
whales.
P is isometric to T ; the tympanic bone is structurally isometric in all spp
studied, although not within mysticetes as a group, shown by the isometric
relations of V to T, of T(2/3) to A1, and of D to square root(A1).
The essentially isometric scaling of the tympanic bone provides a basis for
the functional models described by Hemila et al.(1999).
The relation of S to M+I is also isometric, but the relation of M+I+S to T
is negatively allometric, as is the relation of A2 to A1, both with slopes
close to 2/3. The possible functional implication of this allometry is
unknown.
The mean ossicular density is 2.64 g/cc for odontocetes, and 2.35 g/cc for
mysticetes.  The highly mineralized & convex tympanic plate provides
cetaceans with a uniquely large & stiff sound collecting area.





Oelschlager HH & B Kemp 1998
Ontogenesis of the sperm whale brain
Journal of Comparative Neurology 399: 210-228
      The development of the Physeter macrocephalus brain was investigated in
12 embryos & early fetuses, to obtain a better understanding of the
morphological & physiological adaptations concerning locomotion, deep diving
& orientation.  In male adult sperm whales,
- the average abs.brain mass & the rel.size of the telencephalic hemisphere
are the largest within the mammalia ;
- the ratio of the brain mass to the total body mass is one of the smallest.
In the early sperm whale fetus,
- the rostral part of the olfactory system (olfactory nerves & bulbs) is
lost ;
- the nervus terminalis seems to persist.
- Several components of the limbic system show signs of regression
(hippocampus, fornix, mamillary body) ;
- some components of the auditory system (trapezoid body, inferior
colliculus) show marked enlargement in the early fetal period, thereby
reflecting their dominant position in the adult.
The cerebellum & pons grow slower than in most smaller toothed whales.
The pyramidal tract develops poorly (reduction of the limbs), whereas marked
growth of the striatum & inferior olive may be related to the animal's
locomotion via trunk & tail.
In the early fetal period, the trigeminal, vestibulo-cochlear & facial
nerves are the dominant cranial nerves (besides the vagus nerve):
- the number of axons in the vestibulo-cochlear nerve is high , their
diameters are considerable in adult toothed whales ;
- the trigeminal nerve of the sperm whale may be the thickest of all cranial
nerves, it has the largest number of axons (innervation of the huge forehead
region) ;
- a similar situation seems to exist for the facial nerve, it innervates the
blowhole musculature that surrounds the very large spermaceti organ & melon
(generation & emission of sonar clicks).







Peichl L, G Behrmann & RH Kroger 2001
For whales and seals the ocean is not blue:
a visual pigment loss in marine mammals
European Journal of Neuroscience 13: 1520-8
      Most terrestrial mammals have colour vision based on 2 spectrally
different visual pigments located in 2 types of retinal cone photoreceptors,
i.e. they are cone dichromats with long-to-middle-wave-sensitive (commonly
green) L-cones & short-wave-sensitive (commonly blue) S-cones. With visual
pigment-specific antibodies, we here demonstrate an absence of S-cones in
the retinae of all whales & seals studied.  The sample includes 7 spp of
Odontoceti & 5 Pinnipedia.  These marine mammals have only L-cones (cone
monochromacy) , hence are essentially colour-blind. For comparison, the
study also includes the wolf, ferret & European river otter, the mouflon &
pygmy hippopotamus. These have a normal complement of S- & L-cones.
The S-cone loss in marine spp from 2 distant mammalian orders strongly
argues for convergent evolution : the S-cones may have been lost in all
whales & seals.  However, as the spectral composition of light in clear
ocean waters is increasingly blue-shifted with depth, an S-cone loss would
seem particularly disadvantageous.  We discuss some hypotheses to explain
this paradox.






Pfeiffer CJ & FM Jones 1993
Epidermal lipid in several cetacean species: ultrastructural observations
Anatomy and Embryology 188: 209-218
     The ultrastructure of the skin of bottlenose dolphin, long-finned pilot,
humpback & fin whale was investigated, with particular reference to
epidermal lipid.
It has already been established :
- massive lipid reservoirs exist in whales ;
- the biochemical structures of cetacean lipids are unique ;
- unusual intracellular lipid droplets appear in the epidermis.
We report here ...
The intra-cellular epidermal lipid droplets were more extensive than
lamellar body-derived inter-cellular lipid which is within the interstices
of stratum externum cells.
The intra-cellular droplets
- were spherical,
- highly variable in size, ranging from 0.24 to 3.0 microns in diameter,
- appeared singly or were aggregated in cytoplasmic cavitations,
- often were closely associated with epidermal cell nuclei.
Evidence for exocytosis of the intra-cellular droplets was not observed.
Significant numbers of intra-cellular lipid droplets are not observed in the
epidermis of terrestrial mammals, so their presence is one of several
aquatic specializations of the cetacean integument.
Its full significance remains obscure, but it is more probably associated
with epidermal cell metabolism than with secretion of lipid.


Pfeiffer CJ & VJ Rowntree 1996
Epidermal ultrastructure of the southern right whale calf (Eubalaena
australis)
Journal of Submicroscopic Cytology and Pathology 28: 277-286
      ... lipokeratinocytes demonstrated parakeratosis & numerous
intra-cellular lipid bodies (keratin & melanosomes), as reported for other
cetacean spp, but showed several unique ultrastructural features as well:
- a high prevalence of intra-nuclear inclusion bodies, resembling small
fragments of cytoplasmic keratin,
- close structural relationship between cytoplasmic lipid droplets & the
nucleus.
The subcellular morphology supported the concept of possible nuclear import
of cytoplasmic keratin & lipid metabolites through enlargements of the
nuclear pore complex or other disruptions of the nuclear envelope.
The light microscopy & scanning electron microscopy also revealed an
irregular contour of the lipokeratinocytes, which comprised the thick
stratum externum, and surface flaking of the outermost cells which were
covered by stubby microvillous-like remnants of intercellular junctions.
These results suggest : the long-tem aquatic evolution of this cetacean
species has resulted in a number of integumentary specializations ...

Pfeiffer DC, A Wang, J Nicolas & CJ Pfeiffer 2001
Lingual ultrastructure of the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)
Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia 30: 359-365
     ... The lingual integumental surface was smooth, lacking papillae,
although flaking of outer stratum corneum cells could be observed at high
resolution.  The keratinocytes of the stratum spinosum of the epidermis
resembled those of cetacean skin on other regions of the body, incl. the
presence of cytoplasmic lipid droplets around the nuclei of stratutm
spinosum cells, a lingual feature not seen in terrestrial mammals.
Keratin intermediate filaments were numerous, and occasionally formed
aggregates of circular whorls.
At cell surfaces, bundles of keratin intermediate filaments were frequently
observed inserting into desmosomal plaques.
Pigment granules were not evident ; organelles were sparse.
Stratum corneal cells contained nuclear remnants (parakeratosis) & small
multi-vesicular bodies ; the corneal layer was c 18 cells thick.
The nuclei of the stratum basale keratinocytes possessed exceptionally
numerous & deep clefts.
The dermis was non-distinctive.
The skeletal muscle of the tongue was arranged in widely separated fasiculi
containing small numbers of muscle fibres. Typical fine structure of
skeletal muscle bands & tubular elements was observed by transmission
electron microscopy.






Polasek LK & RW Davis 2001  Journal of Experimental Biology 204: 209-215
Heterogeneity of myoglobin distribution in the locomotory muscles of five
cetacean species
     ... Mg concentration was found to be non-uniformly distributed within
the muscle.  The interior of the muscle lying closest to the vertebrae
showed a significantly higher (11 %) mean Mg concentration than the exterior
of the muscle. In the epaxial muscles, the mean Mg concentration was
significantly higher in the caudal region closest to the flukes. The 2
deep-water spp (false killer, striped dolphin) had significantly higher Mg
concentrations than the 3 spp in shallow coastal waters (dusky, humpbacked &
bottlenose dolphins) ...





Reidenberg JS & JT Laitman 1994  Anatomical Record 240:598-624
Anatomy of the hyoid apparatus in Odontoceti (toothed whales):
specializations of their skeleton and musculature compared with those of
terrestrial mammals
      The hyoid apparatus of odontocetes serves as a major attachment point
for many of the muscles & ligaments, subserving breathing, swallowing &
sound production. ... 48 specimens of 10 odontocete genera (Phocoena,
Lagenorhynchus, Stenella, Delphinus, Tursiops, Grampus, Globicephala,
Mesoplodon, Physeter, Kogia) from beach strandings ...
The odontocete hyoid apparatus (cf.artiodactyls) is divisible into
- a basal portion (basi-, paired thyro-hyals) &
- a suspensory portion (paired cerato-, epi-, stylo- & tympano-hyals)
connecting the basal portion to the skull base.
Unlike other terrestrial mammals, the basal portion lies inferior to the
laryngeal aditus, is flattened dorso-ventrally, and is rel.large, thus
providing a broad surface area for muscle attachments. The suspensory
elements are not as flattened and are joined by synovial joints (except for
epihyal-stylohyal fusion). Muscular specializations include enlargement of
those which retract the hyoid apparatus (eg, sterno-hyoid) or control the
tongue (eg, stylo-glossus, hyoglo-ssus). These muscles may be particularly
important in a specialized prey capture behavior: suction feeding. In
addition, the hyoid apparatus has a tilted placement, which allows
asymmetrical enlargement of the piriform sinuses. Asymmetry is also seen in
the muscular attachments between the larynx & the hyoid apparatus. The most
pronounced differences from the basic pattern are observed in Physeteridae &
Ziphiidae.
  The derived position & shape of the odontocete hyoid apparatus may have
evolved to subserve several specialized upper respiratory/digestive tract
functions, eg, simultaneous feeding (suction & swallowing) & sound
production.









Shadwick RE and JM Gosline 1994
Arterial mechanics in the fin whale suggest a unique hemodynamic design
American Journal of Physiology 267: R805-818
      ... Balaenoptera physalus ... The aortic arch is greatly expanded,
having an internal radius at an estimated mean blood pressure (13 kPa) that
is 2.5 x greater than that of the descending thoracic aorta.  At this
pressure, the elastic modulus of the arch wall (0.4 MPa) is 30 x less than
that of the descending aorta (12 MPa). Consequently, even though some
capacitance is provided anteriorly by the rel.compliant innominate & carotid
arteries, >90 % of the arterial capacitance resides in the arch. The
characteristic pressure wave velocity (C0) & impedance (Z0) were calculated
from vessel dimensions & elasticity.  A predicted 20-fold increase in Z0
between the arch & thoracic aorta should provide a major reflecting site,
effectively uncoupling the arch from the remainder of the arterial tree.
The dimensions of the arch relative to the likely pressure wavelengths
within it suggest that it acts like a compliant windkessel that greatly
reduces the pulsatility of the inflow to the descending aorta, which itself
likely acts as a rigid, tapered manifold.
It is suggested that the presence of both a highly compliant arch & a
relatively rigid descending aorta is an adaptation for diving.







Shimokawa T, D Yamagiwa, E Hondo, S Nishiwaki, Y Kiso & T Makita 2003
Histological observation of the proper gastric gland in Minke whale,
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Journal of Veterinary Medical Science the Japanese Society of Veterinary
Science 65: 423-6 ...
- a small nr of mucous neck cells & a large nr of chief & parietal cells
were observed in the gland ;
- at the body to basal portions of the gland, the ratio of chief cells to
other cells seemed to be large compared to the neck portion ;
- the chief cell had secretory granules with middle level of electron
density ;
- the parietal cell contained abundant mitochondria & intracellular
canaliculi.
The proper gastric gland may appear to secrete large amounts of digestive
enzymes, and have high digestive activity.







Smith TL, BS Turnbull & DF Cowan 1999
Morphology of the complex laryngeal gland in the Atlantic bottlenose
dolphin, Tursiops truncatus
Anatomical Record 254: 98-106
      A complex lympho-epithelial gland is a constant feature in the larynx
... A large lymphoepithelial gland occurs in the rostro-ventral mucosa of
the larynx, overlying the cricoid cartilage.  It presents as a well-defined,
elevated & heavily trabeculated area.  Histological examination reveals a
pseudo-stratified columnar epithelium, which branches into the underlying
submucosa. The epithelial-lined folds ; crypts thus formed are surrounded by
aggregations of lymphocytes, which infiltrate this epithelium.  Mucous
glands are often associated with these lymphoid aggregations.  The
histological appearance of the laryngeal gland is remarkably similar to the
palatine (dorsal oro-pharyngeal) tonsils of T.truncatus.  It may be
analogous to the naso-pharyngeal adenoid of terrestrial animals.
Age-related involution of the laryngeal gland is not as obvious with
increasing animal age (or length) as it is in other mucosa-associated
lymphoid tissue.  The distribution of this gland among cetaceans is not yet
known.  We have observed it in individuals of every species we have studied,
including Lagenodelphis hosei, Stenella coeruleoalba, Stenella attenuata,
Globicephala macrorhynchus, Steno bredanensis, Physeter catodon, Pseudorca
crassidens, Mesoplodon europaeus & Kogia breviceps.






Spoor F, S Bajpai, ST Hussain, K Kumar & JG Thewissen 2002 Nature 417:163-6
Vestibular evidence for the evolution of aquatic behaviour in early
cetaceans

      ... Extant cetaceans are found to be unique : their semicircular canal
arc size, corrected for body mass, is c 3 x smaller than in other mammals.
This reduces the sensitivity of the canal system, most plausibly to match
the fast body rotations that characterize cetacean behaviour.  Eocene
fossils show that the new sensory regime, incompatible with terrestrial
competence, developed quickly & early in cetacean evolution, as soon as the
taxa are associated with marine environments.  Dedicated agile swimming of
cetaceans thus appeared to have originated as a rapid & fundamental shift in
locomotion rather than as the gradual transition suggested by postcranial
evidence. We hypothesize that the unparalleled modification of the
semicircular canal system represented a key 'point of no return' event in
early cetacean evolution, leading to full independence from life on land.





Thewissen JG & ST Hussain 1993  Nature 361: 444-5
Origin of underwater hearing in whales
     All described fossil & Recent cetaceans have rel.similar ear bones
(malleus, incus, stapes) that strongly diverge from those of land mammals.
Here we report that the hearing organ of the oldest whale, Pakicetus, is the
only known intermediate between that of land mammals & aquatic cetaceans.
The incus of Pakicetus is intermediate with respect to inflation, crural
proportions & position of the mallear joint. The incus & mandible of
Pakicetus indicate : the path of soundwaves to its ear resembled that of
land mammals. These fossils suggest that the first whale was amphibious, and
corroborate the hypothesis that artiodactyls are the closest extant
relatives of cetaceans.






Werth AJ 2004  Aquatic Mammals 30: 405-418
Functional morphology of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) tongue,
with reference to suction feeding
      Gross & microscopic examination of the tongue & hyo-lingual apparatus
of the sperm whale revealed numerous distinct differences from other toothed
whales & dolphins, largely reflecting the tongue's atypical position,
relations & size, & its primary role in suction ingestion, rather than prey
prehension or transport, as in many other odontocetes.  Unlike other
odontocetes, the sperm whale has a short wide tongue, that is uniquely
situated at the rear of the open oral cavity.  Since the tongue does not
extend to the tooth row, which runs along the elongated median mandibular
symphysis, it cannot easily re-orient grasped prey items, yet it can
position them to be swallowed or sucked directly into the oro-pharyngeal
opening.  The scarcity of intrinsic lingual musculature (m.lingualis
proprius) but rel.large paired extrinsic muscles inserting in the tongue
(m.hyoglossus (whose profuse fibers comprise much of the tongue root) & m.
genioglossus) suggests the tongue mainly undergoes positional, rather than
shape, changes as it is retracted by the hyoid to generate negative
intra-oral pressures to capture & ingest prey items via suction.
The tongue possesses numerous longitudinal folds or plicae, but almost no
free tip; its slightly convex dorsum bears deep fissures & few sensory
receptors in a multi-layered & predom.aglandular horny epithelium.



Werth AJ 2004  Journal of Experimental Biology 207: 3569-80
Models of hydrodynamic flow in the bowhead whale filter feeding apparatus
      Anatomical & behavioral analyses suggest : the filtration mechanism of
bowhead & right whales (Balaenidae) is driven by hydrodynamic as well as ram
hydraulic pressures.  Complementary models were devised to investigate
biomechanical aspects of water flow in the buccal cavity of the bowhead
whale during continuous filter feeding.  A mathematical model was created to
test & quantify water flow predictions with steady state hydromechanical
equations; a physical model of the bowhead mouth (approximately 1115 scale)
was constructed to visualize flow processes. Both models rely on
morphometric data obtained from whales harvested by Inupiat Eskimos for
subsistence purposes along with information on foraging ecology (locomotor
velocity, gape, etc.). Results indicate : unique features of balaenid oral
construction & function (e.g. sub-rostral gap, oro-labial sulcus, curvature
of baleen, extensive mandibular rotation, lingual mobility) not only permit
steady uni-directional flow of water through the mouth, but also establish
Bernoulli & Venturi effects during feeding.  These hydrodynamic conditions
allow balaenids to improve filtering efficiency and avoid creation of an
anterior compressive wave (by increasing flow velocity and thereby reducing
pressure) so that they may capture elusive prey even at slow swimming
speeds.





Williams TM, J Haun, RW Davis, LA Fuiman & S Kohin 2001
A killer appetite: metabolic consequences of carnivory in marine mammals
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A, Molecular and Integrative
Physiology 129: 785-796  ...
- BMRs of Weddell seals & dolphins resting on the water surface are 1.6 &
2.3 x the predicted levels for similarly sized domestic terrestrial mammals
resp.
- Small intestinal lengths for carnivorous marine mammals depend on body
size and are comparatively longer than those of terrestrial carnivores. The
relationship between BMR (kcal/d) & small-intestinal length (m) for both
marine & terrestrial carnivores was, BMR=142.5 intestinal length(1.20)
(r(2)=0.83).  We suggest that elevated metabolic rates among marine mammal
carnivores are associated with comparatively large alimentary tracts that
are presumably required for supporting the energetic demands of an aquatic
lifestyle and for feeding on vertebrate & invertebrate prey.






Yaman S, L von Fersen, G Dehnhardt & O Gunturkun 2003
Visual lateralization in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus):
evidence for a population asymmetry?
Behavioural Brain Research 142: 109-114
      A previous behavioural study with a single bottlenose had reported a
right eye superiority in visual discrimination tasks, indicating a left
hemisphere dominance for visual object processing ...  right eye advantage
(left hemisphere dominance) for all 3 tested animals & a predominance of
right eye use during daily activities :
- bottlenose dolphins are lateralized for visual pattern discrimination at
the level of a population asymmetry?
- dolphins exploit local visual details instead of global configurational
features to recognize & memorize visual stimuli?





Zylberberg L, W Traub, V de Buffrenil, F Allizard, T Arad & S Weiner 1998
Rostrum of a toothed whale: ultrastructural study of a very dense bone
Bone 23: 241-7
      The rostral bones of the toothed whale, Mesoplodon densirostris,
consist mainly of hypermineralized secondary osteons and have yielded among
the highest values for density (2.6 g/cm3) and mineral content (86.7%) yet
reported for any bone. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy show
parallel rods of mineral oriented along the length of the rostrum. These
consist of platey crystals of carbonated hydroxyapatite, which, judging from
electron diffraction, are extremely well and coherently aligned. The
collagen component of the rostral bone consists largely of very thin fibrils
aligned in longitudinal register to form tubular networks. The collagen
fibrils are also aligned with the lengths of the mineral rods, which are
apparently accommodated in the tubular spaces of the collagenous network.
This peculiar ultrastructure clearly differs from the densely packed
mineralized fibrils commonly observed in vertebrate lamellar osseous
tissues, although histological examination has indicated some vestiges of
"normal" primary bone surrounding the secondary osteons. Thus, the bone
tissue in the rostrum is characterized by a remarkably sparse collagenous
component. This ultrastructure can explain the high density, stiffness, and
brittleness of the rostrum that have been observed. It also raises
interesting questions about possible modes of crystal growth during ongoing
mineralization in normal bone, and may have some relevance in the mechanical
behavior of dense bones in pathological conditions.

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/02/single_gene_allows_glowing_bact\
eria_to_switch_from_fish_to_s.php

bacteria give light to fish & squid

also note human-unique form of salmonella - how old is this gene
variant? Related to diet - fishing or scavenging? Why different from
all other salmonella species?

JV Yule, CXJ Jensen, A Joseph & J Goode 2009
The puzzle of North America's Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinction
patterns: test of new explanation yields unexpected results
Ecological Modelling 220:533-544

Although Late Pleistocene extinctions disproportionately affected larger
mammalian spp, numerous smaller spp were also lost.  To date, no
satisfactory explanation has been presented to account for this pattern.

Beginning with the assumption that human predation caused the extinctions,
we offer & test the first such explanatory hypothesis, which is predicated
on considering more realistic functional response forms (ie, those that
allow for predator interference or prey sharing).
We then test the hypothesis via a 1-predator-6-prey ecological model that
maintains transparency, minimalism of design & maximal constraint of
parameters.
Results indicate : altering assumptions about 1 cornerstone of ecological
modeling (ie, functional response) fails to produce qualitative differences
in survival­extinction outcomes ‹ even in conjunction with a wide range of
capture efficiency permutations.  This unexpected finding suggests that no
reasonable form of predation alone is capable of producing the
survival­extinction pattern observed.

We conclude that the matter of causation & the conclusions of previous Late
Pleistocene extinction models remain far less certain than many have
assumed.

Lees, S., D.B. Hanson, and E.A. Page (1996). Some acoustical
properties of the otic bones of a fin whale. Journal of the Acoustical
Society of America 99(4, Pt. 1): 2421-7. ISSN: 0001-4966.
Abstract: The otic bones in this report are the tympanic bulla, the
periotic, and the three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes) of an
adult fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus).

The purpose was to determine if the periotic was denser than the other
otic bones. It was found in one male adult fin whale that the density
of all the otic bones is approximately the same, 2.50 kg/m3 with a
maximum of 2.58. The lowest density was observed in the stapes (2.36).
The sonic velocity seems to vary as the density but there also seems
to be a structural effect. The maximum sonic velocity was 4.89 km/s in
the malleus. The specific acoustic impedance was as high as 12.5
megarayles in the periotic.

These values compare with those for human femur of 1.95 for the
density, 3.73 for the sonic velocity, and 7.33 for the specific
acoustic impedance. The ossicles weigh as much as 200 times as much as
human ossicles. The density of whale ossicles are about ten percent
greater than human ossicles.

The mechanical natural frequency of the whale ossicles must be very
low. The approximate uniformity of the properties of this whale's otic
bones may be characteristic of the middle ear. The density of the otic
bones of land mammals is less than for whales. The density of the
horse petrosal (2.29 g/cc) is essentially the same as the density of
adult human ossicles (2.23-2.27 g/cc).

[Is density same for both small ponies and large draft horses? Small
cetaceans have more dense bones than large cetaceans.]

The high density of the otic bones for all mammals suggests it may be
related to hearing acuity perhaps by increasing the specific acoustic
impedance, which increases the acoustic contrast with the other body
tissues.
Descriptors: acoustics, ear ossicles physiology, whales physiology.\
---

The middle ear bones derive from "fish-reptile" jaw bones. Lampreys
and sharks lack hard bone, lampreys lack jaws, both have mineralized
teeth & scales, so middle ear bones derive from altered ancestral
external armor plating of a suction feeder AFAICT, perhaps
crustacean-like or turtle scutes. Jaws not needed for suction feeding,
only for maceration of non-digestible shelled prey to access soft tissue.

So likely, when jaw bones became middle ear bones, no maceration?

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/25/ice-man.html#socialco\
mments

glacier, seafood in GI, iron knife, walking stick

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090131125244.htm

"The distribution of the crocodiles is restricted to particular parts
of the forest where essential factors of water, pH, prey, soil and
cover are found."

Apparently favorable sites for crocs differ from favorable sites for
wading lowland gorillas, in some way not yet described. Regular
presence of forest elephants (MV) in areas unoccupied by crocs but
favored by gorillas might be the reason. Perhaps crocs avoid
elephants. I'd guess they can hear elephants/rhinos/hippos coming via
ground/water vibration, and leave the open water.

Can large male adult gorillas produce low pitched rumbling calls,
mimicking elephant rumbles, causing crocs to leave?

That would select for waterside food foraging, flotation, dominance
(ability to gain/provide food to weaker ones during drought).

Notably, both bull elephants and bull crocs roar. Thanks Michael.


--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, "Gerard Michael Burns" <595982402587@...>
wrote:
>
> Unless I am mis-reading...
>
> Two species, per
>
> http://people.whitman.edu/~jacksok/Ndoki%20herps.pdf
>
> See also:
> "Although crocodiles were the focus of the expedition, we also made
> observations of many primate species, including chimpanzees and
gorillas,
> hippopotamus and duiker. Crocodiles and their nests were counted along
> transects. Quantitative counts of crocodiles and their nests were
made in
> randomly placed areas 6 m wide and 300 m long. Numerous crocodiles
were seen
> and we were also able to make observations of their nests. We were
able to
> experiment with techniques and define a method for counting
crocodiles in
> the future. A number of specimens were collected for stomach
analysis and
> parasitological studies. Egg counts in eight nests indicated 12 eggs
per
> nest except one which had eleven.
>
> This expedition, the first to effect a passage on this route through
the
> impenetrable swamps, and established that the area is virtually
untouched by
> people and suitable for future research. The distribution of the
crocodiles
> is restricted to particular parts of the forest where essential
factors of
> water, pH, prey, soil and cover are found. The restricted
distribution of
> the crocodiles in the swamp does not justify abusive exploitation.
Further
> studies, which we hope to continue in this area, will assist the
> conservation of crocodiles in this area.-Freely translated by the
editors
> from a report in French, by M. Agnana, Wildlife Conservation Society,
> Project Nouabale-Ndoki, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Congo."
>
> http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/newsletter/news144a.htm
>
>
>
>
> Michael Burns
>

The skull lacks SC fat, the scalp hair somewhat insulates in air, not
water. Dolphins have rich myelin neuronal networks and a fatty sonar
melon, but not much SC fat around the skull.

AFAIK chimps have relatively little myelin, but much more than simpler
primates.

The human post cranial body and cheeks are Externally insulated with
SC fat, the brain is Internally insulated with myelin sheaths, keeping
the myelinated neuron network in 'high gear' but the rest of the brain
in 'low gear' (low metabolism, low energy-oxygen cost, relatively).
Abundant myelin = reduced need for SC fat around skull, reduced
benefit from dense scalp hair.

So, IMO, in a general sense, Mario is right, but not in details; and
Marc is not right about human head and fat, regarding myelin. Perhaps
larger brain simply indicates more sum myelin?

Mario & Marc at SAP re this link
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5627359.ece
February 1, 2009


MP Doesn't bigger brain play a role, lol.

MV Yes, "smart" is difficult or impossible to measure, so
intelligence" or "smart" should not be used in serious papers.  But
it's possible to say sensible things on brain size.

MP Bigger brain in humans is because of a unique termoregulation need
in humans, where heat is dissipated from neck above, and not from neck
below. From neck below humans have SC fat, which acts as a heat
insulation. Overheated human can ventilate only through head (if not
through sweat), so (IIRC, but I am not sure, Marc could know this)
humans have large blood vessels which go to head. So, humans have warm
cheeks, which go very red easily (blush easily).

MV Our bigger brain has nothing to do with our thermoregulation, but
is not unexpected in a (ex)littoral creature: otters have rel.larger
brains than equally large weasels, seals than equally large Carnivora,
dolphins than terrestrial artiodactyls, humans than apes.  Also, spp
that frequently adopt different life & feeding styles (eg, humans,
elephants) probably generally have rel.larger brains than spp that
keep +-the same lifestyle for millions of years (seacows).

MV We can loose heat by sweating water + salt, just like overheated
sealions on land, and unlike savanna mammals.  In the water, we can
open our extensive superficial venous networks on arms & legs (cause
of varices in humans).

MP But what about the brain. Well, I presume that you have to keep
brain from overheating. I presume that hair is good in this.

MV That must be the reason why (bald) men are less intelligent than
women IYO?  No: largely irrelevant: there are large vessels between
heart & brain, so every Tp change is immediately transferred from
brain to heart & v.v.  Dean Falk's hypothesis (radiator brain) is of
the usual savanna thinking, I'm afraid about as sensible as the kudu
running nonsense.

MP But what about brain in cold air. Well, I presume that you have to
keep your brain in fat, for this. We just have FATTER brain, not more
"intelligent" one. -- Mario Petrinovic

MV There's no evidence that human brains are "fatter" (in whatever
definition) than those of apes, Mario.  But of course it's possible
that when littoral hominids had abundant seafood (with a lot of DHA,
which is necessary for building brain fats) they could grow larger
brains in shorter times (earlier puberty) than H.sapiens.  Besides, Hs
has somewhat smaller brains than Hn.

MV primates can open mangrove oysters

LO So can a seagull
---

No, AFAIK a seagull cannot open mangrove oysters, they can open
unattached bivalves by dropping them on hard surfaces. Oysters are
glued, anchored to tree or boulders.

There may be other shorebirds capable of opening various shellfish. I
don't know of any that specializes on oysters.


Black Oystercatcher Diet (more mussels than oysters?)

Mussels and limpets are their primary food, but Black Oystercatchers
prey on a wide range of shellfish and other creatures found along the
rocky shore. They locate open mussels and disable them with a quick
jab to the adductor muscle. With the mussel stuck in the open
position, the oystercatcher can pull out the contents with the tip of
its chisel-like bill. Oystercatchers often forage in the wave zone,
because mussels that are splashed by waves open more frequently.

Review - Gorilla habitat: fresh & salt water plants, sedges,

(maybe the crocs inland lost their saltwater tolerance, avoid salty bais?)

Western lowland gorillas are also found in more closed-canopy primary
forests. In and around the northern part of the Odzala-Koukoua NP
there are more than 100 forest clearings. They have a particularly
sodium-rich herbaceous vegetation and are known as saline or bais.

Gorillas are known to visit these clearings on a regular basis to feed
on plants from families such as Cyperaceae and Asteraceae. Swamp
forests are now considered important habitats and feeding areas for
western gorillas, supporting them in high densities both in the wet
and the dry season (Fay et al.1989).

The soils of these swamps tend to be waterlogged or permanently
flooded and the aquatic plants such as Hydrocharis spp. provide an
important food resource for western gorillas (Nishihara 1995).  High
densities of gorillas in swamp habitat in northern Congo were recently
reported at the International Primatological Society Congress (Stokes
et al.2008).

Common plant species in swamp forest include those belonging to the
genera Xylopia, Raphia, Klaineanthus, Trichilia, Lophira, Guibourtia
and Aframomum gingers (Bermejo 1999, Fay et al.1989). In Northern
Congo western gorillas favour swamps forests where Raphia is common, a
palm used both for food and nest construction (Blake et al.1995). In
south-western CAR the distribution of gorillas seems to be influenced
by the availability of Afromomum spp (Carroll 1988).

Food availability affects both diet and foraging behaviour of
gorillas. High quality herbs that are easily digestible and rich in
proteins and minerals are scarce and patchily distributed in western
gorilla habitat, outside swamp forest areas.

Fruit is relatively widely available in their habitats and forms an
important part of the diet of western lowland gorillas, at least in
comparison with their eastern counterparts. The seasonal importance of
fruit and herbs in the diet of the western gorilla has been much
discussed. The availability of seasonal fruit appears to shape the
foraging and ranging patterns of western gorillas (Remis, 1997). When
fruit is abundant seasonally, it may constitute most of the diet.
High-quality herbs (rich in minerals and proteins contents) are eaten
all year round, while low-quality herbs are eaten only when fruit is
scarce.

More leaves and woody vegetation are consumed during the dry season
(January-March) when few fleshy fruits are available, more fruit is
eaten at other times. In habitat where the leguminous tree
Gilbertiodendron dewevrei is present, gorillas feed heavily on its
seeds and can travel some distance during mass fruiting events
(occurring at five years intervals) to congregate in stands of G.
dewevrei (Blake & Fay, 1997).












--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@...> wrote:
>
> GORILLA
> Report on the conservation status of Gorillas.
> Concerted Action and CMS Gorilla Agreement
> in collaboration with the
> Great Apes Survival Project-GRASP
>
> Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
> 2008 CMS Technical Series Publication N°17
>
> ... In early 2008, the estimate of the world¹s population of critically
> endangered western lowland gorillas received a boost with the
discovery by
> WCS teams of large gorilla numbers in previously unexplored remote
and not
> easily accessible swamp forests in the northern part of the Republic of
> Congo, bringing the population estimates for north eastern Congo to
125,000.
> Current estimates of the total Western Lowland population are
probably in
> the order of 150.000-200,000 individuals.
> ...In the Odzala-Koukoua NP in Congo, western lowland gorilla occupies a
> large variety of habitats. Here they primarily live in open-canopy
forest
> with a richly understory vegetation of Marantaceae. This forest type is
> dominant in the northeastern part of the park. The ground vegetation is
> dominated by an almost impenetrable thicket of Marantaceae species,
> including Haumania liebrechtsiana, Megaphrynium macrostachyum, and
> Sarcophrynium spp. Insects are also
> part of their diet (termites and ants), although their relative
importance
> is still undetermined (Tutin & Fernandez 1992; Remis, 1997;
Deblauwe, 2003;
> 2006).
> ... Western gorillas travel farther when more fruit (and termites) are
> available in the forest and have shorter day ranges when they must
rely on
> leaves and woody vegetation (Goldsmith 1999).
> ... Because surveys of Western Lowland Gorillas are usually carried
out on a
> site basis it has been difficult to assess population status and trends.
> However the recent paper of Walsh et al.(2003) used two country-wide
surveys
> twenty years apart to show that roughly half of Gabon¹s gorillas
vanished
> between 1983-2000. A recent set of surveys encompassing much of Northern
> Congo showed that there are very high densities in Raphia swamps and
that
> well protected logging concessions can also have medium densities
(Stokes et
> al.2008). However these studies also showed that (i) not all swamps
harbour
> high gorilla densities and (ii) gorilla numbers are low to very low in
> logging concessions that have no effective antipoaching. These
confirm other
> more site-based reports from the region as a whole. Previous
estimates of
> western lowland gorillas were based on habitat suitability (Harcourt
1996)
> but unfortunately in this region, even good habitat type does not
> necessarily mean that there are gorillas present. Hunting and Ebola have
> taken their toll (and continue to do so) and in 2007 it was
estimated that
> at most half of these survived. Numbers have been boosted by additional
> populations discovered in previously unsurveyed swamps in northern
Congo,
> but it should be remembered that of the oft-quoted 125,000 gorillas
in that
> area, at least 46,000 were already known about, in the Nouabale-Likouala
> landscape (Stokes et al.2008). The tally of northern Congo¹s gorillas
> incorporates 73,000 found in the Ntokou-Pikounda region and 52,000
from the
> Ndoki-Likouala landscape, and a previously unknown population of
nearly 6000
> gorillas was discovered in an isolated raphia swamp. Many of them live
> outside of existing protected areas, and their survival is
essentially due
> to remoteness (from villages) of the areas recently surveyed.
> ...Western lowland gorilla groups travel within a home range
averaging 5 to
> 30 km2. Gorillas do not display territorial behaviour, and neighbouring
> groups often overlap ranges (Bermejo 2004, Doran et al.2004). The group
> usually favours a certain area within the home range but seems to
follow a
> seasonal pattern depending upon the availability of ripening fruits
and, at
> some sites, localised large open clearings (swamps and "bais"). Gorillas
> normally travel 0.5-3.0 km per day (Remis 1997, Doran et al.2004).
> ... Congo (Critically Endangered): The western lowland gorilla still
occurs
> in the Republic of Congo north of the Equator, particularly in the
> well-protected areas of the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park and its buffer
> zone, the Lac Tele Community Reserve (especially in the patches
dominated by
> Raphia swamp forests), and the area east of the Odzala National Park
known
> as the Ngombe-Pikounda area. The Odzala National Park itself, once the
> stronghold of many thousands of apes, has suffered from the Ebola
outbreaks
> of the early 2000¹s in which large numbers of apes have died.
However there
> are still important gorilla populations in this Park, especially in the
> southern and eastern sectors. Recent surveys by WCS (2007-2008) indicate
> that perhaps half of the world population of western lowland
gorillas live
> in the forests of northern Congo. Unfortunately they are very close
to the
> areas affected by Ebola in the last few years and so these animals
are still
> under a very high risk of extinction from Ebola.
>
> - Blake S, M Rogers, J Fay, M Ngangoue & G Ebeke 1995 Afr J Ecol
33:285-290
> Swamp gorillas in the northern Congo.
> - Fay JM, M Agnagna, J Moore & R Oko 1989 Int J Primatol 10:477-486
> Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Likouala swamp forests of
> north central Congo: preliminary data on population and ecology
> - Poulsen JR & Clark CJ 2004 Int J Primat 25:285-306
> Densities, distributions, and seasonal movements of gorillas and
chimpanzees
> in swamp forest in northern Congo
>
> The Gorilla is a forest species. The eastern lowland gorilla has the
widest
> altitudinal range of any of the gorilla subspecies, living in montane,
> transitional, and lowland tropical forests. They have been reported at a
> range of densities from 0.25/km2 in Maïko NP, 0.55/km2 at Mount
Tshiaberimu
> to 1.03-1.26/km2 in Kahuzi-Biega  (Hall et al.1998, Plumptre et al.2003,
> Yamagiwa et al.1993).
>
> One of the best studied populations occupies the highlands of
Kahuzi-Biega.
> Here habitats vary from dense primary forest intermixed with bamboo
stands,
> to moderately moist woodland, to areas of Cyperus swamp and peat
bog, with
> alpine and subalpine grassland at higher altitudes, some patches of more
> open vegetation also occur at lower elevations.
>
> The varied diet of the eastern lowland gorilla includes a wide range of
> plants, fruits, seeds, leaves, stems and barks as well as ants,
termites and
> other insects. Seasonality in diet and habitat use is greater for
Grauer¹s
> gorillas in low-altitude forests than for mountain gorillas. Grauer¹s
> gorilla eats more fruit than Bwindi¹s mountain gorilla but not as
much as
> western gorillas. When fruit is scarce, eastern lowland gorillas
travel less
> and increase their consumption of herbaceous vegetation. Large
quantities of
> bamboo shoots, as well as several types of fruits are eaten
seasonally by
> eastern lowland gorillas of the upper altitudinal reaches of KBNP. These
> gorillas also occasionally feed on ants, but have not been observed
eating
> insects as often as their congeners in lowland forests. Insects are
never
> more than a minor part of the diet for any gorillas. The ant-feeding
sites
> have all been found in primary or ancient secondary forest on ridges or
> slopes. Most plant parts are eaten on the ground, although leaves,
bark, and
> fruit are sometimes eaten in trees. Signs of feeding activity have more
> often been observed along gorilla trails in valleys and swamps.
>
>
>
> RAPHIA PALM SWAMPS
> Walter A. Glooschenko
> Faculty of Environmental Studies - York University
>
> When one thinks of palms, we think of swaying trees on a sandy tropical
> beach.  And tropical coastal swamps are considered to be dominated
by treed
> mangrove wetlands.   This is not necessarily so!
> Palms are often the dominant form of treed vegetation in tropical
freshwater
> wetlands, especially those subjected to increased periods of inundation.
> Flooding followed by a dry season and fire appear to assist the
development
> of these palm-dominated wetland ecosystems.  A zonation occurs
frequently
> with a freshwater herbaceous marsh occurring next to the water body
such as
> a lagoon or river giving way to a mixed-treed swamp dominated with
palms.
> Such palms tend to occur in wet depressions and Raphia palm swamp
forest in
> Conkouati Lagoon (Photo by Tim Dodman) these palm-dominated associations
> tend to be monospecific, i.e. of very low species diversity in
contrast to
> most tropical forests.
>
> There are three major types of palm swamps named after the dominant palm
> species.  The first of these is the Mauritia swamp, which contains
up to 21
> species of this palm.  This is typical of South American wetlands.  The
> second type, the Metroxylon swamp, often called Sago palm swamp, is
found in
> the South Pacific and Far East.
>
> The third type of palm swamp is dominated by two species of oil palms,
> Raphia taedigera and Elaeis oleifera.  These two species occur both
in the
> Neotropics, from southern Nicaragua to the Caribbean lowlands of
Colombia
> and the Amazon delta, and span the Atlantic Ocean to tropical Africa.
>
> This has led to speculation that the two species originated in
Africa and
> were somehow transported to the Americas.
> In terms of Costa Rica, Raphia swamps are found on both the Atlantic
coast
> and in the Golfo Dulce region of the Pacific Coast.  The Atlantic
coast is
> an ideal habitat, as it is characterized by barrier islands with lagoons
> landward of them.  The barrier islands protect the lagoons from
high-energy
> waves and allow the palms to become   established.  The islands also
prevent
> the inland flow of salt water which would lead to mangrove-dominated
> ecosystems.  The high rainfall and proximity to steep mountains and high
> runoff also favour freshwater wetland formation on this coast.
>
> The Raphia palm is locally called ³yolillo² and the swamps are called
> ³yolillales².  They make up 7% of all Costa Rican forested wetlands, and
> some 5% of wetlands in general in the country. Some 600 square
kilometers of
> Raphia swamp occur there.  Little is known about the ecology of Raphia
> swamps.  They appear to be an important habitat for birds, reptiles,
> amphibians and mammals.
> Tapirs and peccaries use them for feeding on palm fruits and seeds.
  They
> present a major opportunity for research in all areas of tropical
biology
> and ecology.
>

"In 1995 Tobias declared at a large conference
"The Savannah Hypothesis is no more" after it
emerged in sites in south and east Africa that
some early hominids dwelling in forest became
bipedal without ever venturing onto a savannah.
Effectively this eliminated Savannah as a
cause of bipedalism effectively destroying
the whole Savannah Theory of evolution."


"Aquatic ape Hypothesis is far from proven, but
at the moment enjoys the luxury of being the only
theory of human evolution in existence at present.
most of the scientific research being done in the
area is on Aquatic Ape Hypothesis and its days as
a crank theory in the distant past. A new
generation of ethno-paleontologists exist and
the killer ape a lot more cuddly than before."

----------------


The above are quotes from an excellent summary
of David Attrenborough's  BBC Radio 4 programs
on the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, posted on a
history site. (supplemented)


All Empires: Online History Community
Killer Ape/Cuddly Ape

http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=killer_ape_cuddly_ape



---m3d

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7863997.stm

Monday, February 2, 2009
Our Earliest African Ancestor
by Marcel F. Williams

In 2002, Nature magazine announced to the world that French
paleontologist, Michel Brunet, and his colleagues had discovered the
fossil cranium of the earliest human ancestor. The fossil remains of a
skull and jaw had been found on July, 19, 2001, in the Djurab desert
in the Central African country of Chad by a Chandian student (Ahounta
Djimdoumalbaye) working with the Brunet team. The president of Chad
named it Toumai (hope of life), a nickname often given to Chadian
children born in the dry season. But Brunet's team named it
Sahelanthropus tchadensis after the African region that borders the
African savanna and the Sahara desert and after the nation where it
was found.

Sahelanthropus was originally dated at between 6 to 7 million years
old. But the most recent estimates have determined that the fossil
skull and the other hominins remains were between 6.8 and 7.2 million
years old. This would make Sahelanthropus older than later fossil
hominins Ardipithecus and Australopithecus and, therefore, the oldest
fossil human ancestors ever found in Africa.


Some researchers, however, have questioned the hominin (humans, human
ancestors, and close non-ape human relatives) status of
Sahelanthropus, arguing that the fossil hominoid may actually be more
closely related to the gorilla or the chimpanzee rather than to humans
and their non-ape human relatives such as Australopithecus......

http://newpapyrusmagazine.blogspot.com/1999/01/our-earliest-african-ancestor.htm\
l

Marine Mammal Science 7, 331-368
HYDROSTASIS IN THE SIRENIA:
QUANTITATIVE DATA and FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS
DP Domning & V de Buffrénil 1991

Are the heavy bones & horizontal lungs of Sirenia adaptations for
maintaining neutral buoyancy & horizontal trim?

Based on
- detailed measurements of skeletal weight distribution (Trichechus manatus
latirostris, Florida),
- measurements of the positions of body & skeletal centers of gravity
(T.inunguis, Amazon),
- available data on lung morphology in Sirenia,
- the detailed arrangement of bones, muscle masses & viscera (T.inunguis,
illustrated in cross-sections for the first time),
we confirm :
- skeletal weight is appropriately distributed to serve as hydrostatic
ballast,
- the lungs are properly designed to help maintain horizontal trim,
- selection for maintenance of trim & maximization of turning moments of the
flippers help account resp.for hindlimb loss & shortening of the neck in
Sirenia & Cetacea.

We recommend
- the term "pachyostosis" be used to refer only to thickening of bones,
regardless of their density,
- "osteosclerosis" be used for the replacement of cancellous with compact
bone,
- "pachyosteosclerosis" be used for the joint occurrence of these
conditions.

Pachyosteosclerosis in Sirenia, which may be brought about during ontogeny
by mechanisms involving thyroid & parathyroid hormones, is fully normal &
adaptive in this order, and in no sense "pathological".

... the structure of bone in Sirenia seems to be consistent with some
physiological peculiarities of these animals:
- a low metabolic rate,
- a depression of thyroid & parathyroid functions, due to atrophy &
morphological abnormalities of these glands (Sickenberg 1931, Scholander &
Irving 1941, Cave & Aumonier 1967, Marsh et al.1978, Irvine 1983, see also
Gallivan et al.1983).

_____

"abnormalities" = "fully normal"?

--Marc

> http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:17941103

Thanks, DD.


Molar enamel thickness and dentine horn height in Gigantopithecus blacki
AJ Olejniczak cs 2007 AJPA

...

Abs.thickness = thickest of any fossil or extant primate.

Rel.measures suggest thick enamel (not hyperthick)
- overlaps slightly with Po,
- overlaps completely with H.

Dentine horns are rel.short,
+-shorter < Po,
shorter < HPG.

Gb (& +-Po) molar enamel is distributed rel.evenly across the occl.surface
(Hs has more complex distribution).

Evenly distributed occl.enamel + rel.short dentine horns
= flat & low-cusped occl.surface
(suitable to grinding tough or fibrous food)
= also found +-in Po & Sivap (diagnostic of Ponginae?)
not in HPG.

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7863997.stm

Apparently they think a parallel evolution is impossible?

--Marc

http://www.open.ac.uk/darwin/devolve-me.php

--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@...> wrote:
>
>
> >
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7863997.stm
>
> Apparently they think a parallel evolution is impossible?
>
> --Marc

My thoughts too. But what parallels exist today or recently? Humans
don't leap from tree to tree.

I guess vertical hanging-floating precludes gazing? Both lemurs and
humans significantly changed since ancestral vertical hanging-floating?

DD:
> The skull lacks SC fat, the scalp hair somewhat insulates in air, not
> water. Dolphins have rich myelin neuronal networks and a fatty sonar
> melon, but not much SC fat around the skull.

Yes, that's probably a problem of streamlining: there's no place around the
skull for a thick SC fat layer.

> AFAIK chimps have relatively little myelin, but much more than simpler
> primates.
> The human post cranial body and cheeks are Externally insulated with
> SC fat, the brain is Internally insulated with myelin sheaths, keeping
> the myelinated neuron network in 'high gear' but the rest of the brain
> in 'low gear' (low metabolism, low energy-oxygen cost, relatively).
> Abundant myelin = reduced need for SC fat around skull, reduced
> benefit from dense scalp hair.

- Are myeline sheaths thermo-insulating?
- There's no myeline around the cell bodies, only around the axons.

--Marc

> So, IMO, in a general sense, Mario is right, but not in details; and
> Marc is not right about human head and fat, regarding myelin. Perhaps
> larger brain simply indicates more sum myelin?

> Mario & Marc at SAP re this link
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5627359.ece
> February 1, 2009

> MP Doesn't bigger brain play a role, lol.

> MV Yes, "smart" is difficult or impossible to measure, so
> "intelligence" or "smart" should not be used in serious papers.
> But it's possible to say sensible things on brain size.

> MP Bigger brain in humans is because of a unique termoregulation need
> in humans, where heat is dissipated from neck above, and not from neck
> below. From neck below humans have SC fat, which acts as a heat
> insulation. Overheated human can ventilate only through head (if not
> through sweat), so (IIRC, but I am not sure, Marc could know this)
> humans have large blood vessels which go to head. So, humans have warm
> cheeks, which go very red easily (blush easily).

> MV Our bigger brain has nothing to do with our thermoregulation, but
> is not unexpected in a (ex)littoral creature: otters have rel.larger
> brains than equally large weasels, seals than equally large Carnivora,
> dolphins than terrestrial artiodactyls, humans than apes.  Also, spp
> that frequently adopt different life & feeding styles (eg, humans,
> elephants) probably generally have rel.larger brains than spp that
> keep +-the same lifestyle for millions of years (seacows).

> MV We can loose heat by sweating water + salt, just like overheated
> sealions on land, and unlike savanna mammals.  In the water, we can
> open our extensive superficial venous networks on arms & legs (cause
> of varices in humans).

> MP But what about the brain. Well, I presume that you have to keep
> brain from overheating. I presume that hair is good in this.

> MV That must be the reason why (bald) men are less intelligent than
> women IYO?  No: largely irrelevant: there are large vessels between
> heart & brain, so every Tp change is immediately transferred from
> brain to heart & v.v.  Dean Falk's hypothesis (radiator brain) is of
> the usual savanna thinking, I'm afraid it's about as sensible as
> the kudu running nonsense.

> MP But what about brain in cold air. Well, I presume that you have to
> keep your brain in fat, for this. We just have FATTER brain, not more
> "intelligent" one. -- Mario Petrinovic

> MV There's no evidence that human brains are "fatter" (in whatever
> definition) than those of apes, Mario.  But of course it's possible
> that when littoral hominids had abundant seafood (with a lot of DHA,
> which is necessary for building brain fats) they could grow larger
> brains in shorter times (earlier puberty) than H.sapiens.  Besides,
> Hs has somewhat smaller brains than Hn.

> Monday, February 2, 2009
> Our Earliest African Ancestor
> by Marcel F. Williams
> In 2002, Nature magazine announced to the world that French
> paleontologist, Michel Brunet, and his colleagues had discovered the
> fossil cranium of the earliest human ancestor. The fossil remains of a
> skull and jaw had been found on July, 19, 2001, in the Djurab desert
> in the Central African country of Chad by a Chandian student (Ahounta
> Djimdoumalbaye) working with the Brunet team. The president of Chad
> named it Toumai (hope of life), a nickname often given to Chadian
> children born in the dry season. But Brunet's team named it
> Sahelanthropus tchadensis after the African region that borders the
> African savanna and the Sahara desert and after the nation where it
> was found.
> Sahelanthropus was originally dated at between 6 to 7 million years
> old. But the most recent estimates have determined that the fossil
> skull and the other hominins remains were between 6.8 and 7.2 million
> years old. This would make Sahelanthropus older than later fossil
> hominins Ardipithecus and Australopithecus and, therefore, the oldest
> fossil human ancestors ever found in Africa.
> Some researchers, however, have questioned the hominin (humans, human
> ancestors, and close non-ape human relatives) status of
> Sahelanthropus, arguing that the fossil hominoid may actually be more
> closely related to the gorilla or the chimpanzee rather than to humans
> and their non-ape human relatives such as Australopithecus......
> http://newpapyrusmagazine.blogspot.com/1999/01/our-earliest-african-ancestor.h
> tml

Thanks a lot, Marcel.
(hominin = Homo, ie, without apiths)

The earliest hominids (sensu vs.pongids) seem to have lived in S-Europe 12-8
Ma: Dryo-, Ourano-, Oreopith (Med.Sea).

Some students think the African fossils Nakali-, Chorora- & Samburupith
(+-10 Ma) are early hominids (sensu HPG), but others (eg, Begun) think
Samburupith is a late surviving proconsulid.  Not impossibly this might also
be the case for Nakai- & Chororapith??
If so (totally unpoven), Sahalanthr might be the oldest hominid in Africa.
It was found nearby fish, turtles, pythons, crocs, water birds, diverse
otters, monkeys, kobus, hipparion & diverse pachyderms incl.anthracotherians
(relatives of hippos, came into Chad from shallow seas in the Lybian Sirt
basin (Lihoreau 2006, Louchart 2008), which was connected to the Med.Sea.

DNA data suggest HP & G split 8 or 7 Ma, so Sahelanthr must be about at the
split.  After that time, IMO, G remained in the central forest (Nile, Kongo,
Rift) & HP trekked to the littoral forest (SE.Africa), where they split in P
(remained in the littoral forest) & H (colonised the Ind.Ocean shores)?

--Marc

> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090131125244.htm

Thanks, DD.
This "medium-altitude forest" might be an example of how sea-altitude
forests there looked like in colder times (glacials)?

--Marc

> Lees, S., D.B. Hanson, and E.A. Page (1996). Some acoustical
> properties of the otic bones of a fin whale. Journal of the Acoustical
> Society of America 99(4, Pt. 1): 2421-7. ISSN: 0001-4966.
> Abstract: The otic bones in this report are the tympanic bulla, the
> periotic, and the three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes) of an
> adult fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
>
> The purpose was to determine if the periotic was denser than the other
> otic bones. It was found in one male adult fin whale that the density
> of all the otic bones is approximately the same, 2.50 kg/m3 with a
> maximum of 2.58. The lowest density was observed in the stapes (2.36).
> The sonic velocity seems to vary as the density but there also seems
> to be a structural effect. The maximum sonic velocity was 4.89 km/s in
> the malleus. The specific acoustic impedance was as high as 12.5
> megarayles in the periotic.
>
> These values compare with those for human femur of 1.95 for the
> density, 3.73 for the sonic velocity, and 7.33 for the specific
> acoustic impedance. The ossicles weigh as much as 200 times as much as
> human ossicles. The density of whale ossicles are about ten percent
> greater than human ossicles.
>
> The mechanical natural frequency of the whale ossicles must be very
> low. The approximate uniformity of the properties of this whale's otic
> bones may be characteristic of the middle ear. The density of the otic
> bones of land mammals is less than for whales. The density of the
> horse petrosal (2.29 g/cc) is essentially the same as the density of
> adult human ossicles (2.23-2.27 g/cc).
>
> [Is density same for both small ponies and large draft horses?

I guess so, but the whole bone can be rel.thicker or thinner, or the medulla
(marrow, cancellous bone) can be rel.narrower or larger.

> Small cetaceans have more dense bones than large cetaceans.]

Is this so, DD?

Heavy bones compensate, eg, for the lung volume & (to a much smaller degree)
on SC fat volume.  Overal densities of aq.mammals are the same as the water
(ie, skeletons are much heavier in sea water).
Shallow water dwellers generally have rel.larger lungs.
Small aquatics need rel.more SC fat for thermo-insulation.
Slower swimmers (right whales) are much fatter than, eg, finwhales
(rel.little SC fat, light bones).
Surface feeders (right whales) can be lighter than (sea)water.

> The high density of the otic bones for all mammals suggests it may be
> related to hearing acuity perhaps by increasing the specific acoustic
> impedance, which increases the acoustic contrast with the other body
> tissues.
> Descriptors: acoustics, ear ossicles physiology, whales physiology.\

> ---
> The middle ear bones derive from "fish-reptile" jaw bones. Lampreys
> and sharks lack hard bone, lampreys lack jaws, both have mineralized
> teeth & scales, so middle ear bones derive from altered ancestral
> external armor plating of a suction feeder AFAICT, perhaps
> crustacean-like or turtle scutes. Jaws not needed for suction feeding,
> only for maceration of non-digestible shelled prey to access soft tissue.
> So likely, when jaw bones became middle ear bones, no maceration?

Teeth are derived from skin scales IIRC.
IYO the ossicles derive from dermal (protecting?) bone?
Interesting thinking.

--Marc

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7863997.stm

>> Apparently they think a parallel evolution is impossible?  --Marc

> My thoughts too. But what parallels exist today or recently? Humans
> don't leap from tree to tree.
> I guess vertical hanging-floating precludes gazing? Both lemurs and
> humans significantly changed since ancestral vertical hanging-floating?

Couldn't the gaze be a social adaptation to larger grops?

--marc

--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@...> wrote:
>
> DD:
> > The skull lacks SC fat, the scalp hair somewhat insulates in air, not
> > water. Dolphins have rich myelin neuronal networks and a fatty sonar
> > melon, but not much SC fat around the skull.
>
> Yes, that's probably a problem of streamlining: there's no place
around the
> skull for a thick SC fat layer.

There is no Need for a thick SC fat layer around the skull, since the
neural network is internally insulated, I guess. The torso needs a
single SC fat layer because the nerves are well distributed all
throughout the body including the skin, so its metabollically more
efficient to surround them as an external envelope of skin fat.


>
> > AFAIK chimps have relatively little myelin, but much more than simpler
> > primates.
> > The human post cranial body and cheeks are Externally insulated with
> > SC fat, the brain is Internally insulated with myelin sheaths, keeping
> > the myelinated neuron network in 'high gear' but the rest of the brain
> > in 'low gear' (low metabolism, low energy-oxygen cost, relatively).
> > Abundant myelin = reduced need for SC fat around skull, reduced
> > benefit from dense scalp hair.
>
> - Are myeline sheaths thermo-insulating?

Yes, the fluids inside and outside the sheaths are more conductive,
the sheaths are less, both in heat and electrical flow.

> - There's no myeline around the cell bodies, only around the axons.

No need for cell insulation except in special cases, I'd think.

The sheaths are not continuous, but discrete separate tubes, which
allows physical flexibility, similarly and in parallel to the spinal
cord and vertebral skeletal sheath being discrete segments, rather
than a continuous hard sheath. The difference is that myelin sheaths
are not mineralized.



> --Marc
>
> > So, IMO, in a general sense, Mario is right, but not in details; and
> > Marc is not right about human head and fat, regarding myelin. Perhaps
> > larger brain simply indicates more sum myelin?
>
> > Mario & Marc at SAP re this link
> > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5627359.ece
> > February 1, 2009
>
> > MP Doesn't bigger brain play a role, lol.
>
> > MV Yes, "smart" is difficult or impossible to measure, so
> > "intelligence" or "smart" should not be used in serious papers.
> > But it's possible to say sensible things on brain size.
>
> > MP Bigger brain in humans is because of a unique termoregulation need
> > in humans, where heat is dissipated from neck above, and not from neck
> > below. From neck below humans have SC fat, which acts as a heat
> > insulation. Overheated human can ventilate only through head (if not
> > through sweat), so (IIRC, but I am not sure, Marc could know this)
> > humans have large blood vessels which go to head. So, humans have warm
> > cheeks, which go very red easily (blush easily).
>
> > MV Our bigger brain has nothing to do with our thermoregulation, but
> > is not unexpected in a (ex)littoral creature: otters have rel.larger
> > brains than equally large weasels, seals than equally large Carnivora,
> > dolphins than terrestrial artiodactyls, humans than apes.  Also, spp
> > that frequently adopt different life & feeding styles (eg, humans,
> > elephants) probably generally have rel.larger brains than spp that
> > keep +-the same lifestyle for millions of years (seacows).
>
> > MV We can loose heat by sweating water + salt, just like overheated
> > sealions on land, and unlike savanna mammals.  In the water, we can
> > open our extensive superficial venous networks on arms & legs (cause
> > of varices in humans).
>
> > MP But what about the brain. Well, I presume that you have to keep
> > brain from overheating. I presume that hair is good in this.
>
> > MV That must be the reason why (bald) men are less intelligent than
> > women IYO?  No: largely irrelevant: there are large vessels between
> > heart & brain, so every Tp change is immediately transferred from
> > brain to heart & v.v.  Dean Falk's hypothesis (radiator brain) is of
> > the usual savanna thinking, I'm afraid it's about as sensible as
> > the kudu running nonsense.
>
> > MP But what about brain in cold air. Well, I presume that you have to
> > keep your brain in fat, for this. We just have FATTER brain, not more
> > "intelligent" one. -- Mario Petrinovic
>
> > MV There's no evidence that human brains are "fatter" (in whatever
> > definition) than those of apes, Mario.  But of course it's possible
> > that when littoral hominids had abundant seafood (with a lot of DHA,
> > which is necessary for building brain fats) they could grow larger
> > brains in shorter times (earlier puberty) than H.sapiens.  Besides,
> > Hs has somewhat smaller brains than Hn.
>

--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@...> wrote:
>
> DD:
> > The skull lacks SC fat, the scalp hair somewhat insulates in air, not
> > water. Dolphins have rich myelin neuronal networks and a fatty sonar
> > melon, but not much SC fat around the skull.
>
> Yes, that's probably a problem of streamlining: there's
> no place around the skull for a thick SC fat layer.
>


Myelin is basically a form electrical insulation, not thermal.
It significantly increases the speed at which an impulse can
travel along a fiber.

In terms of thermal insulation, it would seem the human
brain can survive cold/cooling a lot better than it
does overheating.  (see below)



"Woman back from dead after she survives record
low temperatures" (2000)

A woman has been brought back from the dead after
surviving the lowest temperature recorded in
a human being.

http://tinyurl.com/ad65hh


---m3d





> > AFAIK chimps have relatively little myelin, but much more than simpler
> > primates.
> > The human post cranial body and cheeks are Externally insulated with
> > SC fat, the brain is Internally insulated with myelin sheaths, keeping
> > the myelinated neuron network in 'high gear' but the rest of the brain
> > in 'low gear' (low metabolism, low energy-oxygen cost, relatively).
> > Abundant myelin = reduced need for SC fat around skull, reduced
> > benefit from dense scalp hair.
>
> - Are myeline sheaths thermo-insulating?
> - There's no myeline around the cell bodies, only around the axons.
>
> --Marc
>
> > So, IMO, in a general sense, Mario is right, but not in details; and
> > Marc is not right about human head and fat, regarding myelin. Perhaps
> > larger brain simply indicates more sum myelin?
>
> > Mario & Marc at SAP re this link
> > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5627359.ece
> > February 1, 2009
>
> > MP Doesn't bigger brain play a role, lol.
>
> > MV Yes, "smart" is difficult or impossible to measure, so
> > "intelligence" or "smart" should not be used in serious papers.
> > But it's possible to say sensible things on brain size.
>
> > MP Bigger brain in humans is because of a unique termoregulation need
> > in humans, where heat is dissipated from neck above, and not from neck
> > below. From neck below humans have SC fat, which acts as a heat
> > insulation. Overheated human can ventilate only through head (if not
> > through sweat), so (IIRC, but I am not sure, Marc could know this)
> > humans have large blood vessels which go to head. So, humans have warm
> > cheeks, which go very red easily (blush easily).
>
> > MV Our bigger brain has nothing to do with our thermoregulation, but
> > is not unexpected in a (ex)littoral creature: otters have rel.larger
> > brains than equally large weasels, seals than equally large Carnivora,
> > dolphins than terrestrial artiodactyls, humans than apes.  Also, spp
> > that frequently adopt different life & feeding styles (eg, humans,
> > elephants) probably generally have rel.larger brains than spp that
> > keep +-the same lifestyle for millions of years (seacows).
>
> > MV We can loose heat by sweating water + salt, just like overheated
> > sealions on land, and unlike savanna mammals.  In the water, we can
> > open our extensive superficial venous networks on arms & legs (cause
> > of varices in humans).
>
> > MP But what about the brain. Well, I presume that you have to keep
> > brain from overheating. I presume that hair is good in this.
>
> > MV That must be the reason why (bald) men are less intelligent than
> > women IYO?  No: largely irrelevant: there are large vessels between
> > heart & brain, so every Tp change is immediately transferred from
> > brain to heart & v.v.  Dean Falk's hypothesis (radiator brain) is of
> > the usual savanna thinking, I'm afraid it's about as sensible as
> > the kudu running nonsense.
>
> > MP But what about brain in cold air. Well, I presume that you have to
> > keep your brain in fat, for this. We just have FATTER brain, not more
> > "intelligent" one. -- Mario Petrinovic
>
> > MV There's no evidence that human brains are "fatter" (in whatever
> > definition) than those of apes, Mario.  But of course it's possible
> > that when littoral hominids had abundant seafood (with a lot of DHA,
> > which is necessary for building brain fats) they could grow larger
> > brains in shorter times (earlier puberty) than H.sapiens.  Besides,
> > Hs has somewhat smaller brains than Hn.
>

--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@...> wrote:
>
>
> > Lees, S., D.B. Hanson, and E.A. Page (1996). Some acoustical
> > properties of the otic bones of a fin whale. Journal of the Acoustical
> > Society of America 99(4, Pt. 1): 2421-7. ISSN: 0001-4966.
> > Abstract: The otic bones in this report are the tympanic bulla, the
> > periotic, and the three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes) of an
> > adult fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
> >
> > The purpose was to determine if the periotic was denser than the other
> > otic bones. It was found in one male adult fin whale that the density
> > of all the otic bones is approximately the same, 2.50 kg/m3 with a
> > maximum of 2.58. The lowest density was observed in the stapes (2.36).
> > The sonic velocity seems to vary as the density but there also seems
> > to be a structural effect. The maximum sonic velocity was 4.89 km/s in
> > the malleus. The specific acoustic impedance was as high as 12.5
> > megarayles in the periotic.
> >
> > These values compare with those for human femur of 1.95 for the
> > density, 3.73 for the sonic velocity, and 7.33 for the specific
> > acoustic impedance. The ossicles weigh as much as 200 times as much as
> > human ossicles. The density of whale ossicles are about ten percent
> > greater than human ossicles.
> >
> > The mechanical natural frequency of the whale ossicles must be very
> > low. The approximate uniformity of the properties of this whale's otic
> > bones may be characteristic of the middle ear. The density of the otic
> > bones of land mammals is less than for whales. The density of the
> > horse petrosal (2.29 g/cc) is essentially the same as the density of
> > adult human ossicles (2.23-2.27 g/cc).
> >
> > [Is density same for both small ponies and large draft horses?
>
> I guess so, but the whole bone can be rel.thicker or thinner, or the
medulla
> (marrow, cancellous bone) can be rel.narrower or larger.
>
> > Small cetaceans have more dense bones than large cetaceans.]
>
> Is this so, DD?

Sorry I should have said 'not specifically the ossicles', according to
one of the articles which you linked about cetaceans that claimed
faster small cetaceans had (some?) denser bones than slower large
cetaceans. I'm not sure which bones, perhaps only the flipper
phallanges, due to stress of turning at fast speeds?. This is
different than slow divers having ballast bones. Also, possibly river
dolphins have different density bones?

>
> Heavy bones compensate, eg, for the lung volume & (to a much smaller
degree)
> on SC fat volume.  Overal densities of aq.mammals are the same as
the water
> (ie, skeletons are much heavier in sea water).
> Shallow water dwellers generally have rel.larger lungs.
> Small aquatics need rel.more SC fat for thermo-insulation.
> Slower swimmers (right whales) are much fatter than, eg, finwhales
> (rel.little SC fat, light bones).
> Surface feeders (right whales) can be lighter than (sea)water.
>
> > The high density of the otic bones for all mammals suggests it may be
> > related to hearing acuity perhaps by increasing the specific acoustic
> > impedance, which increases the acoustic contrast with the other body
> > tissues.
> > Descriptors: acoustics, ear ossicles physiology, whales physiology.\
>
> > ---
> > The middle ear bones derive from "fish-reptile" jaw bones. Lampreys
> > and sharks lack hard bone, lampreys lack jaws, both have mineralized
> > teeth & scales, so middle ear bones derive from altered ancestral
> > external armor plating of a suction feeder AFAICT, perhaps
> > crustacean-like or turtle scutes. Jaws not needed for suction feeding,
> > only for maceration of non-digestible shelled prey to access soft
tissue.
> > So likely, when jaw bones became middle ear bones, no maceration?
>
> Teeth are derived from skin scales IIRC.
> IYO the ossicles derive from dermal (protecting?) bone?
> Interesting thinking.
>
> --Marc

It seems possible, and from limited data, likely.

But originally the armor was not "for defense", but just a result of
mineral accumulation which happened to coalesce in the skin. Those
that consumed foods rich in carbonate produced different armor than
those consuming silicates or others, but with similar digestion and
accretion/secretion/deposition of minerals. Perhaps the proto-thyroid
was involved?

Consider how well sound conducts through bone. Air and air-filled
pores make a poorer conductor than solid bone or water or fat.
I'd guess that among mammals, a well furred one would have different
hearing than an armored armadillo. Possibly manatees appear ear-deaf
because their dense skin and mineralized bones carry vibrations?

--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@...> wrote:
>
>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7863997.stm
>
> >> Apparently they think a parallel evolution is impossible?  --Marc
>
> > My thoughts too. But what parallels exist today or recently? Humans
> > don't leap from tree to tree.
> > I guess vertical hanging-floating precludes gazing? Both lemurs and
> > humans significantly changed since ancestral vertical
hanging-floating?
>
> Couldn't the gaze be a social adaptation to larger grops?
>
> --marc


I don't know, bonobos group up to 100, do lemurs group so large?

Lemurs more nocturnal, apes more diurnal, humans (recently?) becoming
more nocturnal (fire, oil lamps, electricity)?

--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, "m3dodds" <dons3148@...> wrote:
>
> --- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@> wrote:
> >
> > DD:
> > > The skull lacks SC fat, the scalp hair somewhat insulates in
air, not
> > > water. Dolphins have rich myelin neuronal networks and a fatty sonar
> > > melon, but not much SC fat around the skull.
> >
> > Yes, that's probably a problem of streamlining: there's
> > no place around the skull for a thick SC fat layer.
> >
>
>
> Myelin is basically a form electrical insulation, not thermal.

Incorrect, it insulates both electrically and thermally, just like
insulated wire AFAICT. This means the rest of the body can be cool,
but the myelinated neural net remains warm and fast reactive. This is
more metabollically efficient than keeping the whole brain at a warmer
temperature in order to keep neural net fast. Certainly an advantage
for small cetaceans sleeping at night in cold water where sharks may
hunt using electrosensors, and probably for backfloating resting and
diving humans.

> It significantly increases the speed at which an impulse can
> travel along a fiber.
>
> In terms of thermal insulation, it would seem the human
> brain can survive cold/cooling a lot better than it
> does overheating.  (see below)
>
> "Woman back from dead after she survives record
> low temperatures" (2000)
>
> A woman has been brought back from the dead after
> surviving the lowest temperature recorded in
> a human being.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ad65hh
>
>
> ---m3d
>
>
>
>
>
> > > AFAIK chimps have relatively little myelin, but much more than
simpler
> > > primates.
> > > The human post cranial body and cheeks are Externally insulated with
> > > SC fat, the brain is Internally insulated with myelin sheaths,
keeping
> > > the myelinated neuron network in 'high gear' but the rest of the
brain
> > > in 'low gear' (low metabolism, low energy-oxygen cost, relatively).
> > > Abundant myelin = reduced need for SC fat around skull, reduced
> > > benefit from dense scalp hair.
> >
> > - Are myeline sheaths thermo-insulating?
> > - There's no myeline around the cell bodies, only around the axons.
> >
> > --Marc
> >
> > > So, IMO, in a general sense, Mario is right, but not in details; and
> > > Marc is not right about human head and fat, regarding myelin.
Perhaps
> > > larger brain simply indicates more sum myelin?
> >
> > > Mario & Marc at SAP re this link
> > > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5627359.ece
> > > February 1, 2009
> >
> > > MP Doesn't bigger brain play a role, lol.
> >
> > > MV Yes, "smart" is difficult or impossible to measure, so
> > > "intelligence" or "smart" should not be used in serious papers.
> > > But it's possible to say sensible things on brain size.
> >
> > > MP Bigger brain in humans is because of a unique termoregulation
need
> > > in humans, where heat is dissipated from neck above, and not
from neck
> > > below. From neck below humans have SC fat, which acts as a heat
> > > insulation. Overheated human can ventilate only through head (if not
> > > through sweat), so (IIRC, but I am not sure, Marc could know this)
> > > humans have large blood vessels which go to head. So, humans
have warm
> > > cheeks, which go very red easily (blush easily).
> >
> > > MV Our bigger brain has nothing to do with our thermoregulation, but
> > > is not unexpected in a (ex)littoral creature: otters have rel.larger
> > > brains than equally large weasels, seals than equally large
Carnivora,
> > > dolphins than terrestrial artiodactyls, humans than apes.  Also, spp
> > > that frequently adopt different life & feeding styles (eg, humans,
> > > elephants) probably generally have rel.larger brains than spp that
> > > keep +-the same lifestyle for millions of years (seacows).
> >
> > > MV We can loose heat by sweating water + salt, just like overheated
> > > sealions on land, and unlike savanna mammals.  In the water, we can
> > > open our extensive superficial venous networks on arms & legs (cause
> > > of varices in humans).
> >
> > > MP But what about the brain. Well, I presume that you have to keep
> > > brain from overheating. I presume that hair is good in this.
> >
> > > MV That must be the reason why (bald) men are less intelligent than
> > > women IYO?  No: largely irrelevant: there are large vessels between
> > > heart & brain, so every Tp change is immediately transferred from
> > > brain to heart & v.v.  Dean Falk's hypothesis (radiator brain) is of
> > > the usual savanna thinking, I'm afraid it's about as sensible as
> > > the kudu running nonsense.
> >
> > > MP But what about brain in cold air. Well, I presume that you
have to
> > > keep your brain in fat, for this. We just have FATTER brain, not
more
> > > "intelligent" one. -- Mario Petrinovic
> >
> > > MV There's no evidence that human brains are "fatter" (in whatever
> > > definition) than those of apes, Mario.  But of course it's possible
> > > that when littoral hominids had abundant seafood (with a lot of DHA,
> > > which is necessary for building brain fats) they could grow larger
> > > brains in shorter times (earlier puberty) than H.sapiens.  Besides,
> > > Hs has somewhat smaller brains than Hn.
> >
>

Woman back from dead after she survives record low temperatures

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Friday, 28 January 2000

A woman has been brought back from the dead after surviving the lowest
temperature recorded in a human being.

The 29-year-old woman was declared clinically dead after a skiing
accident in which she became wedged under thick ice and submerged in
freezing water for 40 minutes. By the time rescue services had taken
her to hospital, her body temperature had fallen to 13.7C - almost 24
degrees below the normal temperature of 37C. Doctors worked on her for
nine hours before she came round and she then spent 60 days in
intensive care, 35 of them on a ventilator to assist her breathing.

Five months after the accident last May, she was back at work with
only minor problems. Last week, she returned from a two-week skiing
holiday in Canada.

Mads Gilbert, professor of anaesthesiology at the University Hospital
of Tromso, Norway, and one of the team of 150 doctors and nurses who
cared for the woman during her two-month hospital stay, named her
yesterday as Anna Bagenholm, a Swedish doctor working at Narvik
hospital in Norway. He said the key factor in her survival had been
the cooling of her brain while she lay half submerged in icy water.

Ms Bagenholm was a highly experienced off-piste skier who had been
descending a frozen stream with two friends when she slipped and fell.
She slid head first down the 30-degree slope and under a section of
ice cracked by the early summer sun. The speed with which she was
travelling wedged her with her head and body partly submerged in the
stream below. Only her skis had prevented her disappearing altogether.

Her two companions, a man and a woman, struggled to free her for seven
minutes before calling for help on a mobile phone, but the rescue team
took an hour to reach them.

Professor Gilbert, who describes her case in The Lancet medical
journal, said yesterday: "Her friends tried to pull her out but they
couldn't. She was wedged between rocks and she was banging on the ice
and scratching at the underside. It is unimaginable how they felt.
There must have been air-pockets under the ice because she kept
struggling for 40 minutes. Then she stopped."

One hour and 19 minutes after her fall, a rescue team arrived, dug a
hole in the ice downstream and pulled her out. She was not breathing
and had no pulse, but resuscitation was begun immediately and
continued while she was flown by air ambulance tohospital in Tromso.
She was put on a heart bypass machine for three hours to bring her
blood back to normal temperature.

Cooling is known to reduce the body's need for oxygen and there have
been many examples of extraordinary feats of survival among people
pulled from ice, but none with such a low body temperature, Professor
Gilbert said. The previous record was 14.4C in a child.

The main danger after resuscitation is that the brain can swell,
causing death, but this is less likely if it has been cooled when the
accident occurs. Professor Gilbert said: "If you have a warm brain
when you die you get brain oedema [swelling] after resuscitation. If
you have a cold brain you don't. The message is that if you fall into
water, before you drown get the cap off your head."

EMT: "They're not dead unless they're warm and dead"

Remarkable. Must have had quite an ice cream headache.

Strange how our bodies react to infection by heating the brain, or
perhaps alternating heating and cooling is what works.



--- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, "m3dodds" <dons3148@...> wrote:
>
> --- In AAT@yahoogroups.com, Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@> wrote:
> >
> > DD:
> > > The skull lacks SC fat, the scalp hair somewhat insulates in
air, not
> > > water. Dolphins have rich myelin neuronal networks and a fatty sonar
> > > melon, but not much SC fat around the skull.
> >
> > Yes, that's probably a problem of streamlining: there's
> > no place around the skull for a thick SC fat layer.
> >
>
>
> Myelin is basically a form electrical insulation, not thermal.
> It significantly increases the speed at which an impulse can
> travel along a fiber.
>
> In terms of thermal insulation, it would seem the human
> brain can survive cold/cooling a lot better than it
> does overheating.  (see below)
>
>
>
> "Woman back from dead after she survives record
> low temperatures" (2000)
>
> A woman has been brought back from the dead after
> surviving the lowest temperature recorded in
> a human being.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ad65hh
>
>
> ---m3d
>
>
>
>
>
> > > AFAIK chimps have relatively little myelin, but much more than
simpler
> > > primates.
> > > The human post cranial body and cheeks are Externally insulated with
> > > SC fat, the brain is Internally insulated with myelin sheaths,
keeping
> > > the myelinated neuron network in 'high gear' but the rest of the
brain
> > > in 'low gear' (low metabolism, low energy-oxygen cost, relatively).
> > > Abundant myelin = reduced need for SC fat around skull, reduced
> > > benefit from dense scalp hair.
> >
> > - Are myeline sheaths thermo-insulating?
> > - There's no myeline around the cell bodies, only around the axons.
> >
> > --Marc
> >
> > > So, IMO, in a general sense, Mario is right, but not in details; and
> > > Marc is not right about human head and fat, regarding myelin.
Perhaps
> > > larger brain simply indicates more sum myelin?
> >
> > > Mario & Marc at SAP re this link
> > > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5627359.ece
> > > February 1, 2009
> >
> > > MP Doesn't bigger brain play a role, lol.
> >
> > > MV Yes, "smart" is difficult or impossible to measure, so
> > > "intelligence" or "smart" should not be used in serious papers.
> > > But it's possible to say sensible things on brain size.
> >
> > > MP Bigger brain in humans is because of a unique termoregulation
need
> > > in humans, where heat is dissipated from neck above, and not
from neck
> > > below. From neck below humans have SC fat, which acts as a heat
> > > insulation. Overheated human can ventilate only through head (if not
> > > through sweat), so (IIRC, but I am not sure, Marc could know this)
> > > humans have large blood vessels which go to head. So, humans
have warm
> > > cheeks, which go very red easily (blush easily).
> >
> > > MV Our bigger brain has nothing to do with our thermoregulation, but
> > > is not unexpected in a (ex)littoral creature: otters have rel.larger
> > > brains than equally large weasels, seals than equally large
Carnivora,
> > > dolphins than terrestrial artiodactyls, humans than apes.  Also, spp
> > > that frequently adopt different life & feeding styles (eg, humans,
> > > elephants) probably generally have rel.larger brains than spp that
> > > keep +-the same lifestyle for millions of years (seacows).
> >
> > > MV We can loose heat by sweating water + salt, just like overheated
> > > sealions on land, and unlike savanna mammals.  In the water, we can
> > > open our extensive superficial venous networks on arms & legs (cause
> > > of varices in humans).
> >
> > > MP But what about the brain. Well, I presume that you have to keep
> > > brain from overheating. I presume that hair is good in this.
> >
> > > MV That must be the reason why (bald) men are less intelligent than
> > > women IYO?  No: largely irrelevant: there are large vessels between
> > > heart & brain, so every Tp change is immediately transferred from
> > > brain to heart & v.v.  Dean Falk's hypothesis (radiator brain) is of
> > > the usual savanna thinking, I'm afraid it's about as sensible as
> > > the kudu running nonsense.
> >
> > > MP But what about brain in cold air. Well, I presume that you
have to
> > > keep your brain in fat, for this. We just have FATTER brain, not
more
> > > "intelligent" one. -- Mario Petrinovic
> >
> > > MV There's no evidence that human brains are "fatter" (in whatever
> > > definition) than those of apes, Mario.  But of course it's possible
> > > that when littoral hominids had abundant seafood (with a lot of DHA,
> > > which is necessary for building brain fats) they could grow larger
> > > brains in shorter times (earlier puberty) than H.sapiens.  Besides,
> > > Hs has somewhat smaller brains than Hn.
> >
>