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Author Archives: LS
Eyes in the back of your head: the mysterious sensory organ of lizards
By Kelly Davis (Scripps College) and Alex Mauro (Claremont McKenna College) [edited by Lars Schmitz, as part of BIOL 167 "Sensory Evolution", an upper division class at the Claremont Colleges] When you were young, did your mother ever tell you … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged iguanians, Liolaemus, lizard, parietal eye, sensory organs, third eye
The Echolocation Gene
By Sophie Wang (Pomona College) and Arthur Levine (Pitzer College) [edited by Lars Schmitz, as part of BIOL 167 "Sensory Evolution", an upper division class at the Claremont Colleges] Prestin and the convergent evolution of high-frequency hearing Hearing, one of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged bats, convergent evolution, dolphins, echolocation, prestin, whales
Were Your Ancestors Ticklish?
By Acacia Hori (Pitzer College) and Martha Kresz Bierut (Scripps College) [edited by Lars Schmitz, as part of BIOL 167 "Sensory Evolution", an upper division class at the Claremont Colleges] For hundreds of years, we have assumed that the tickle … Continue reading
Why are Wobbegongs such good Predators?
By Morgan Halley (Scripps College) and Kendall Kritzik (Scripps College) [edited by Lars Schmitz, as part of BIOL 167 "Sensory Evolution", an upper division class at the Claremont Colleges] There are a number of different sensory receptors found in animals. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cupula, evolution, lateral line, mechanosensation, predator, shark, wobbegong
Shedding Light on Non-Visual Photoreceptors
By LeeAnn Louie (Scripps College) and Vanessa Ho (Pomona College) [edited by Lars Schmitz, as part of BIOL 167 "Sensory Evolution", an upper division class at the Claremont Colleges] Photoreceptors are the receptors for visual information and thus, unsurprisingly, are … Continue reading
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Tagged photoreceptor, Platynereis, vision
Timing the Rise of a Weakly-Electric Sense
By Jesse Osborn (Scripps College) and Hillary Bruegl (Scripps College) [edited by Lars Schmitz, as part of BIOL 167 "Sensory Evolution", an upper division class at the Claremont Colleges] The weakly electric sense of South American Gymnotiformes and the African … Continue reading
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Tagged convergent evolution, electric fish, electroreception, Gymnotiformes, Mormyroidea
San Diego Zoo
As part of my class on “Sensory Evolution” we went on a field trip to the San Diego Zoo. A few impressions below. Can you spot the nictitating membrane in the Komodo Dragon and the cloudy eye in the Gopher … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged basilisk, eagle, eye evolution, flamingo, Iguana, lizard, scheltopusik, starling, takin, viper
Are the eyes of giant squid unusually large?
Giant squid are arguably one of the most fascinating and enigmatic marine organisms. We just don’t know much about their natural history and morphology at all, and the little that we do know makes them even more interesting: their enormous … Continue reading
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Tagged colossal squid, deep sea, evolution, eye evolution, eye size, eyes, giant squid, optical model, sperm whale, vision
Eyes drive Diversification
Just saw a cool paper by Martin Aberhahn, Sabine Nürnberg, and Wolfgang Kiessling that came out in Paleobiology recently (Paleobiology 38(2):187-204. 2012). I have several marine mammal papers lined up that I would like to talk about, but the Aberhahn … Continue reading
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Tagged brachiopods, Cambrian, corals, diversity, echinoderms, evolutionary rate, eye evolution, eyes, gastropods, Ordovician, origins of diversity, pectioind bivalves, trilobite eyes, trilobites
Big Eyes in Deep Divers?
I’m finally continuing my blog after being simply too busy over the last few months. I want to resume with a series of small posts on the eyes and visual capabilities of marine mammals, because there have been a few … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged deep sea, diving, eye shape, eye size, eyes, giant eyes, ichthyosaurs, mammals, marine mammals, orbit, sea lions, seals, sensitivity, walrus
