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Coupled ears in lizards and crocodilians

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Abstract

Lizard ears are coupled across the pharynx, and are very directional. In consequence all auditory responses should be directional, without a requirement for computation of sound source location. Crocodilian ears are connected through sinuses, and thus less tightly coupled. Coupling may improve the processing of low-frequency directional signals, while higher frequency signals appear to be progressively uncoupled. In both lizards and crocodilians, the increased directionality of the coupled ears leads to an effectively larger head and larger physiological range of ITDs. This increased physiological range is reviewed in the light of current theories of sound localization.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of J. Matthews with the computation of Fisher information statistics. This research was sponsored by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD) Grant DC-000436 (CEC) and by the Danish Natural Science Research Council (J.C-D)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Catherine E. Carr & Hilary Bierman

  2. Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230, Odense, Denmark

    Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard

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  1. Catherine E. Carr
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  2. Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard
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  3. Hilary Bierman
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Correspondence to Catherine E. Carr.

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This article belongs to a Special Issue on Internally Coupled Ears (ICE).

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Carr, C.E., Christensen-Dalsgaard, J. & Bierman, H. Coupled ears in lizards and crocodilians. Biol Cybern 110, 291–302 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-016-0698-2

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