1
40
1
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
URL Address
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1086/676309" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://doi.org/10.1086/676309</a>
Pages
576–584
Issue
4
Volume
87
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Unique biochemical and mineral composition of whale ear bones.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Physiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2014
2014-08
Subject
The topic of the resource
Amino Acids; Animals; Apatites; Artiodactyla/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; Bone and Bones/*chemistry; Ear/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; Minerals; Phylogeny; Trichechus/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; Whales/*anatomy & histology/*physiology
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Kim Sora L; Thewissen J G M; Churchill Morgan M; Suydam Robert S; Ketten Darlene R; Clementz Mark T
Description
An account of the resource
Abstract Cetaceans are obligate aquatic mammals derived from terrestrial artiodactyls. The defining characteristic of cetaceans is a thick and dense lip (pachyosteosclerotic involucrum) of an ear bone (the tympanic). This unique feature is absent in modern terrestrial artiodactyls and is suggested to be important in underwater hearing. Here, we investigate the mineralogical and biochemical properties of the involucrum, as these may hold clues to the aquatic adaptations of cetaceans. We compared bioapatites (enamel, dentine, cementum, and skeletal bone) of cetaceans with those of terrestrial artiodactyls and pachyosteosclerotic ribs of manatees (Sirenia). We investigated organic, carbonate, and mineral composition as well as crystal size and crystallinity index. In all studied variables, bioapatites of the cetacean involucrum were intermediate in composition and structure between those of tooth enamel on the one hand and those of dentine, cementum, and skeletal bone on the other. We also studied the amino acid composition of the cetacean involucrum relative to that of other skeletal bone. The central involucrum had low glycine and hydroxyproline concentrations but high concentrations of nonessential amino acids, unlike most bone samples but similar to the tympanic of hippos and the (pachyosteosclerotic) ribs of manatees. These amino acid results are evidence of rapid bone development. We hypothesize that the mineralogical and amino acid composition of cetacean bullae differs from that of other bone because of (1) functional modifications for underwater sound reception and (2) structural adaptations related to rapid ossification.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1086/676309" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1086/676309</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
2014
Amino Acids
Animals
Apatites
Artiodactyla/*anatomy & histology/*physiology
Bone and Bones/*chemistry
Churchill Morgan M
Clementz Mark T
Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology
Ear/*anatomy & histology/*physiology
Ketten Darlene R
Kim Sora L
Minerals
NEOMED College of Medicine
Phylogeny
Physiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ
Suydam Robert S
Thewissen J G M
Trichechus/*anatomy & histology/*physiology
Whales/*anatomy & histology/*physiology