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Audiogram, body mass, and basilar papilla length: correlations in birds and predictions for extinct archosaurs

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Abstract

The inner ear in the group of archosaurs (birds, crocodilians, and extinct dinosaurs) shows a high degree of structural similarity, enabling predictions of their function in extinct species based on relationships among similar variables in living birds. Behavioral audiograms and morphological data on the length of the auditory sensory epithelium (the basilar papilla) are available for many avian species. By bringing different data sets together, we show that body mass and the size of the basilar papilla are significantly correlated, and the most sensitive frequency in a given species is inversely related to the body mass and the length of the basilar papilla. We also demonstrate that the frequency of best hearing is correlated with the high-frequency limit of hearing. Small species with a short basilar papilla hear higher frequencies compared with larger species with a longer basilar papilla. Based on the regression analysis of two significant correlations in living archosaurs (best audiogram frequency vs body mass and best audiogram frequency vs papillar length), we suggest that hearing in large dinosaurs was restricted to low frequencies with a high-frequency limit below 3 kHz.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to C. Köppl, M.L. Leek, and J. Strutz for comments on a previous version of the manuscript.

Note added in press

For the vesticular system of Brachiosaurus brancai, Clark has used a similar morphometric analysis and attempts to predict the performance of this extinct species based on data from extant species. [Clarke AH (2005) On the vestibular labyrinth of Brachiosaurus brancai. J Vestib Res 15:65–71]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ENT Department, University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93042, Regensburg, Germany

    Otto Gleich

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Robert J. Dooling

  3. Lehrstuhl für Zoologie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85747, Garching, Germany

    Geoffrey A. Manley

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  1. Otto Gleich
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  2. Robert J. Dooling
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  3. Geoffrey A. Manley
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Correspondence to Otto Gleich.

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Gleich, O., Dooling, R.J. & Manley, G.A. Audiogram, body mass, and basilar papilla length: correlations in birds and predictions for extinct archosaurs. Naturwissenschaften 92, 595–598 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0050-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0050-5

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