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. 2018 Oct;233(4):421-439.
doi: 10.1111/joa.12862. Epub 2018 Jul 22.

Neuroanatomy and inner ear labyrinths of the narwhal, Monodon monoceros, and beluga, Delphinapterus leucas (Cetacea: Monodontidae)

Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
  • 2 The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • 3 Department of Geology and Paleontology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan.
  • 4 Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

Neuroanatomy and inner ear labyrinths of the narwhal, Monodon monoceros, and beluga, Delphinapterus leucas (Cetacea: Monodontidae)

Rachel A Racicot et al. J Anat. 2018 Oct.
. 2018 Oct;233(4):421-439.
doi: 10.1111/joa.12862. Epub 2018 Jul 22.

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
  • 2 The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • 3 Department of Geology and Paleontology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan.
  • 4 Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

Abstract

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) are the only extant members of the Monodontidae, and are charismatic Arctic-endemic cetaceans that are at risk from global change. Investigating the anatomy and sensory apparatuses of these animals is essential to understanding their ecology and evolution, and informs efforts for their conservation. Here, we use X-ray CT scans to compare aspects of the endocranial and inner ear labyrinth anatomy of extant monodontids and use the overall morphology to draw larger inferences about the relationship between morphology and ecology. We show that differences in the shape of the brain, vasculature, and neural canals of both species may relate to differences in diving and other behaviors. The cochleae are similar in morphology in the two species, signifying similar hearing ranges and a close evolutionary relationship. Lastly, we compare two different methods for calculating 90var - a calculation independent of body size that is increasingly being used as a proxy for habitat preference. We show that a 'direct' angular measurement method shows significant differences between Arctic and other habitat preferences, but angle measurements based on planes through the semicircular canals do not, emphasizing the need for more detailed study and standardization of this measurement. This work represents the first comparative internal anatomical study of the endocranium and inner ear labyrinths of this small clade of toothed whales.

Keywords: X-ray CT; brain; cochlea; microCT; petrosal; sensory system; skull; vestibule.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Phylogenetic relationships of the Monodontidae,…

Figure 1

Phylogenetic relationships of the Monodontidae, modified from McGowen et al. (2009).

Figure 1
Phylogenetic relationships of the Monodontidae, modified from McGowen et al. (2009).
Figure 2

Figure 2

Isosurface renderings from CT scans…

Figure 2

Isosurface renderings from CT scans of example specimens used in this study showing…

Figure 2
Isosurface renderings from CT scans of example specimens used in this study showing the geometric relationships of anatomical features within the skull. Top images, from left to right: falsely colored Monodon monoceros skull (YPM MAM 013218) in left anterolateral view; skull rendered partially transparent with cranial endocast rendered at 100% opacity; digital cranial endocast with skull rendered transparent. Bottom images: Oblique anterodorsal views of a M. monoceros petrosal (NMNH 267958) from the right side of the body. From left to right: petrosal at full opacity; petrosal rendered at 50% transparency with digital endocast of the inner ear labyrinths at full opacity; digital endocast of inner ear labyrinths with petrosal rendered transparent.
Figure 3

Figure 3

Labeled anterolateral views of the…

Figure 3

Labeled anterolateral views of the digital cranial endocasts of Monodon monoceros ( YPM…

Figure 3
Labeled anterolateral views of the digital cranial endocasts of Monodon monoceros (YPM MAM 013218; left side of figure, A & C) and Delphinapterus leucas (YPM MAM 006765; right side of figure, B & D). Abbreviations listed in the text.
Figure 4

Figure 4

Labeled anterior (A,B) and ventral…

Figure 4

Labeled anterior (A,B) and ventral (C,D) views of digital cranial endocasts of Monodon…

Figure 4
Labeled anterior (A,B) and ventral (C,D) views of digital cranial endocasts of Monodon monoceros (A,C) and Delphinapterus leucas (B,D). Abbreviations listed in the text.
Figure 5

Figure 5

Posterior (A,B), dorsal (C,D), right…

Figure 5

Posterior (A,B), dorsal (C,D), right lateral (E,F), and left lateral (G,H) views of…

Figure 5
Posterior (A,B), dorsal (C,D), right lateral (E,F), and left lateral (G,H) views of digital cranial endocasts of Monodon monoceros (left side of figure) and Delphinapterus leucas (right side of figure). Abbreviations listed in the text.
Figure 6

Figure 6

Labeled digital endocast in anterior…

Figure 6

Labeled digital endocast in anterior (top) and dorsal (bottom) views of the inner…

Figure 6
Labeled digital endocast in anterior (top) and dorsal (bottom) views of the inner ear labyrinths of Monodon monoceras (NMST 267958) to facilitate comparisons across individuals and species. Abbreviations listed in the text.
Figure 7

Figure 7

Digital endocasts of inner ear…

Figure 7

Digital endocasts of inner ear labyrinths of Delphinapterus leucas specimens from the right…

Figure 7
Digital endocasts of inner ear labyrinths of Delphinapterus leucas specimens from the right side of the body in four standard views.
Figure 8

Figure 8

Digital endocasts of the inner…

Figure 8

Digital endocasts of the inner ear labyrinths of Delphinapterus leucas and Monodon monoceros

Figure 8
Digital endocasts of the inner ear labyrinths of Delphinapterus leucas and Monodon monoceros specimens from the left side of the body in four standard views.
Figure 9

Figure 9

Digital endocasts of the inner…

Figure 9

Digital endocasts of the inner ear labyrinths of Monodon monoceros specimens from the…

Figure 9
Digital endocasts of the inner ear labyrinths of Monodon monoceros specimens from the right side of the body in four standard views.
Figure 10

Figure 10

Principle components analysis ( PCA

Figure 10

Principle components analysis ( PCA ) of nine cochlear measurements including all monodontid…

Figure 10
Principle components analysis (PCA) of nine cochlear measurements including all monodontid individuals from this study (A), with variables factor map inset, and a close‐up of the region of the PCA including monodontids (B). Dataset modified from previous work (Churchill et al. 2016; Mourlam & Orliac, 2017) to include two Delphinapterus leucas individuals (n = 3) and five Monodon monoceros individuals (n = 9), both including petrosals from the left and right sides of the body, when available, to investigate variation.
Figure 11

Figure 11

Distributions of 90var measurements taken…

Figure 11

Distributions of 90var measurements taken two different ways – the ‘direct’ method (of…

Figure 11
Distributions of 90var measurements taken two different ways – the ‘direct’ method (of Racicot et al. 2016), and the ‘plane’ method (cf. Malinzak et al. 2012) – split between coastal, pelagic, and arctic‐type habitat preferences. Distributions are compared using two‐sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests. The ‘direct’ method recovers significant differences between coastal and pelagic species, whereas the ‘plane’ method does not.

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