Short Note: Tubercles: What Sense Is There?

Mercado, Eduardo

doi:10.1578/am.40.1.2014.95

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…B). Nakai and Shida () accurately described the recesses as funnel shaped, and similar structures have been observed in other mysticetes (Mercado, ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 65%

“…Japha () described blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) hairs as vibrissal due to their stiffness and presence of a sinus complex. Mercado () described hairs implanted on the tubercles on the humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) head and proposed a sensory function for these, and Berta et al () assumed the same for gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus ). Haldiman et al () discussed the hairs in the bowhead and identified them as vibrissae based on the increased hair follicle diameter and the presence of nerves and blood sinuses within the wall of the follicle, however, they did not describe these observations with figures or quantitatively.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Sensory Hairs in the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia)

Drake

Crish

George

et al. 2015

The Anatomical Record

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We studied the histology and morphometrics of the hairs of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). These whales are hairless except for two patches of more than 300 hairs on the rostral tip of the lower lip and chin, the rostral tip of the upper lip, and a bilateral row of approximately ten hairs caudal to the blowhole. Histological data indicate that hairs in all three of these areas are vibrissae: they show an outermost connective tissue capsule, a circumferential blood sinus system surrounding the hair shaft, and dense innervation to the follicle. Morphometric data were collected on hair diameters, epidermal recess diameters, hair follicle length, and external hair lengths. The main difference between the hairs in the different regions is that blowhole hairs have larger diameters than the hairs in the chin and rostrum regions. We speculate that the hair shaft thickness patterns in bowheads reflect functional specializations. Anat Rec, 298:1327Rec, 298: -1335Rec, 298: , 2015. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…B). Nakai and Shida () accurately described the recesses as funnel shaped, and similar structures have been observed in other mysticetes (Mercado, ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 65%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory Hairs in the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia)

Drake

Crish

George

et al. 2015

The Anatomical Record

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“…Pinnipeds exhibit morphological elaborations of the vibrissae that are associated with prey capture and benthic foraging [Ginter et al 2012; Marshall et al 2006]. Baleen whales have approximately 100 thin vibrissae on the upper and lower jaws, and some exhibit tubercles on the head that contain innervated hairs [Mercado 2014]. In most odontocete cetaceans, hair is present only as prenatal vibrissae which atrophy, resulting in vibrissal crypts which are electroreceptive in some taxa [Czech-Damal et al 2013; Czech-Damal et al 2012; Ling 1977].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elaboration and Innervation of the Vibrissal System in the Rock Hyrax <b><i>(Procavia capensis)</i></b>

Sarko¹,

Rice²,

Reep³

2015

Brain Behav Evol

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Mammalian tactile hairs are commonly found on specific, restricted regions of the body, but Florida manatees represent a unique exception, exhibiting follicle-sinus complexes (FSCs, also known as vibrissae or tactile hairs) on their entire body. The orders Sirenia (including manatees and dugongs) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes) are thought to have diverged approximately 60 million years ago, yet hyraxes are among the closest relatives to sirenians. We investigated the possibility that hyraxes, like manatees, are tactile specialists with vibrissae that cover the entire postfacial body. Previous studies suggested that rock hyraxes possess postfacial vibrissae in addition to pelage hair, but this observation was not verified through histological examination. Using a detailed immunohistochemical analysis, we characterized the gross morphology, innervation and mechanoreceptors present in FSCs sampled from facial and postfacial vibrissae body regions to determine that the long postfacial hairs on the hyrax body are in fact true vibrissae. The types and relative densities of mechanoreceptors associated with each FSC also appeared to be relatively consistent between facial and postfacial FSCs. The presence of vibrissae covering the hyrax body presumably facilitates navigation in the dark caves and rocky crevices of the hyrax's environment where visual cues are limited, and may alert the animal to predatory or conspecific threats approaching the body. Furthermore, the presence of vibrissae on the postfacial body in both manatees and hyraxes indicates that this distribution may represent the ancestral condition for the supraorder Paenungulata.

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“…Humpback whales also present numerous knobs (tubercles) on their head. According to [5], scientists agree that their function may well be sensorial, as they are highly innervated and develop early in the foetus. The tubercles inner structure suggest they serve the same function as Pacinian corpuscles in terrestrial mammals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The tubercles inner structure suggest they serve the same function as Pacinian corpuscles in terrestrial mammals. Mercado III [5] carried out a study on the spatial distribution of tubercles on adult and calf humpback whales. The distribution in adults was studied through the analysis of published and unpublished photographs, while as far as the calf is concerned, a model was studied, which is displayed at the Whalers Village Museum in Maui, Hawaii.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation of the Effect of Biomimetic Tubercles on a Flat Plate

Marino

Atlar

Demirel

2019

Volume 7A: Ocean Engineering

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This paper describes the investigation, by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), of the effect of biomimetic tubercles on the hydrodynamics of a fully submerged flat plate. The application of these tubercles takes inspiration from the features of the humpback whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae). These huge marine mammals are capable of quick and agile movements in the water, despite their bulky bodies. Researchers investigated the causes of this ability by studying some peculiar somatic characteristics of these animals, in particular the tubercles on the leading edge of their pectoral fins. These tubercles were applied in the form of sinusoidal perturbations of the leading edge of wing profiles and foils, and they proved to cause a positive effect on the overall performance. The aim of this paper is to investigate another type of tubercles, which appear in the shape of bumps on the whales head. The effect of these tubercles has not been studied yet, and this paper presents a study on the fundamental phenomena they generate in the water flowing on the surface of a flat plate. The tubercles are modelled as axisymmetric sinusoidal bumps placed on the flat plate. Different combinations of these tubercles are studied, in order to assess what the effect of a single tubercle is, and how more tubercles interact when they are placed closed to each other, in different configurations (number of tubercles and relative position). In addition, a systematic study of the effect of a single row of tubercles spanning perpendicularly to the flow is carried out. The tubercles change systematically in amplitude and position along the plate. One further objective of this paper is to investigate if an optimised application of the biomimetic tubercles can lead to a drag reduction for the flat plate. Preliminary simulations show that the rows of tubercles interact with the boundary layer by modifying the pressure distribution, velocity and direction of the flow. The tubercles appear to generate vortices that are similar to those created by sinusoidal tubercles on the leading edge of foils, which tend to thin the boundary layer. A change in the total drag of the plate with tubercle is also noticeable, which even decreases from the baseline (flat plate with no tubercles), at certain combinations of position and tubercle amplitude.

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Short Note: Tubercles: What Sense Is There?

Cited by 15 publications

References 25 publications

Sensory Hairs in the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia)

Sensory Hairs in the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia)

Elaboration and Innervation of the Vibrissal System in the Rock Hyrax <b><i>(Procavia capensis)</i></b>

An Investigation of the Effect of Biomimetic Tubercles on a Flat Plate

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