Brain, Behavior and Evolution (2016)
We compared mature dolphins with 4 other groupings of mature cetaceans. With a large data set, we found great brain diversity among 5 different taxonomic groupings. The dolphins in our…
Comparative anatomy of the bony labyrinth of extant and extinct porpoises (Cetacea: Phocoenidae)
Racicot, Rachel A.; Gearty, William; Kohno, Naoki; Flynn, John J.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (2016)
The inner ear anatomy of cetaceans, now more readily accessible by means of nondestructive high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic (CT) scanning, provides a window into their acoustic abilities and ecological preferences.…
De novo assembly and characterization of narrow-ridged finless porpoise renal transcriptome and identification of candidate genes involved in osmoregulation
Ruan, Rui; Guo, Ai-Huan; Hao, Yu-Jiang; Zheng, Jin-Song; Wang, Ding
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2015)
During the evolutionary transition from land to water, cetaceans have undergone numerous critical challenges, with osmoregulation being the major one. Two subspecies of the narrow-ridged finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis), the…
Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) – The little known porpoise
Belanger, Michael; Askin, Nesime; Wittnich, Carin
Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology (2015)
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a small and very elusive porpoise that ranges in a limited geographical area in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Despite various efforts to conserve this…
Characterization of the temporomandibular joint of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)
McDonald, M.; Vapniarsky-Arzi, N.; Verstraete, F.J.M.; Staszyk, C.; Leale, D.M.; Woolard, K.D.; Arzi, B.
Archives of Oral Biology (2015)
Objectives The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in cetaceans is largely uncharacterized. This study aims to describe the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical and biomechanical features of the TMJ of two species of the…
Age and reproduction of the finless porpoises, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis , in the Yellow Sea, Korea
Lee, Young Ran; An, Yong Rock; Park, Kyum Joon; Sohn, Hawsun; An, Du Hae; Kim, Su Am
Animal Cells and Systems (2013)
A total of 116 finless porpoises, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis, were collected in the Yellow Sea off Korea. About 111 specimens were incidentally caught by stow nets on anchors from March to…
Hearing pathways in the Yangtze finless porpoise, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis
Mooney, T. A.; Li, S.; Ketten, D. R.; Wang, K.; Wang, D.
Journal of Experimental Biology (2013)
How an animal receives sound may influence its use of sound. While ‘jaw hearing’ is well supported for odontocetes, work examining how sound is received across the head has been…
Morphology and variation in porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) cranial endocasts
Racicot, Rachel A.; Colbert, Matthew W.
The Anatomical Record (2013)
Evolution of endocranial anatomy in cetaceans is important from the perspective of echolocation ability, intelligence, social structure, and alternate pathways for circulation to the brain. Apart from the importance of…
Ultrastructure of enamel and dentine in extant dolphins (Cetacea: Delphinoidea and Inioidea)
Loch, Carolina; Duncan, Warwick; Simões-Lopes, Paulo C.; Kieser, Jules A.; Fordyce, R. Ewan
Zoomorphology (2012)
Longitudinal and cross sections of teeth from 17 species of the Recent dolphins (Delphinoidea and Inioidea) were examined under scanning electron microscope to study the arrangement and ultrastructure of dental…
Morphology of the odontocete melon and its implications for acoustic function
McKenna, Megan F.; Cranford, Ted W.; Berta, Annalisa; Pyenson, Nicholas D.
Marine Mammal Science (2011)
Toothed whales (crown Odontoceti) are unique among mammals in their ability to echolocate underwater, using specialized tissue structures. The melon, a structure composed of fat and connective tissue, is an…