Morphology of nares associated with stereo-olfaction in baleen whales

• Published in: Biology Letters
• Main Authors: Ryan, Conor, Martins, Maria C. I., Healy, Kevin, Bejder, Lars, Cerchio, Salvatore, Christiansen, Fredrik, Durban, John, Fearnbach, Holly, Fortune, Sarah, Friedlaender, Ari, Koski, William R., Miller, Carolyn, Rodríguez-González, Fabian M., Segre, Paolo S., Urbán R, Jorge, Vivier, Fabien, Weir, Caroline R., Moore, Michael J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2024
• Subjects: Nares; baleen whale; baleen whales
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0479; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0479; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0479

The sensory mechanisms used by baleen whales (Mysticeti) for locating ephemeral, dense prey patches in vast marine habitats are poorly understood. Baleen whales have a functional olfactory system with paired rather than single blowholes (nares), potentially enabling stereo-olfaction. Dimethyl sulfid...