title: Auditory localization of ground-borne vibrations in snakes.
abstract: Interaural time differences allow many animals to perform azimuthal sound localization. Snakes lack a tympanic membrane, external ear openings, and any other superficial indication of an auditory mechanism. They do, however, possess an inner ear with functional cochlea. The oval window is connected through a loss-free osseous lever system to the two, de facto independent, sides of the lower jaw, which typically rest on the substrate. The footfall of prey generates small-amplitude, low propagation velocity, Rayleigh waves in the soil. This type of wave can be described as fluid motion. Accordingly we apply naval-engineering techniques to show that lower-jaw motion gives rise to a neuronal representation of the auditory world with realistic sensitivity and stereo precision.
authors: Physik Department, Technische Universität München, 85747 Garching bei München, Germany.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Friedel
authors: Bruce A
authors: BA
authors: Young
authors: J Leo
authors: JL
authors: van Hemmen