The evolution of active vibrissal sensing in mammals: evidence from vibrissal musculature and function in the marsupial opossum Monodelphis domestica

Facial vibrissae, or whiskers, are found in nearly all extant mammal species and are likely to have been present in early mammalian ancestors. A sub-set of modern mammals, including many rodents, move their long mystacial whiskers back and forth at high speed whilst exploring in a behaviour known as ‘whisking’. It is not known whether the vibrissae of early mammals moved in this way. The grey short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, is considered a useful species from the perspective of tracing the evolution of modern mammals. Interestingly, these marsupials engage in whisking bouts similar to those seen in rodents. To better assess the likelihood that active vibrissal sensing was present in ancestral mammals, we examined the vibrissal musculature of the opossum using digital miscroscopy to see whether this resembles that of rodents. Although opossums have fewer whiskers than rats, our investigation found that they have a similar vibrissal musculature. In particular, in both rats and opossums, the musculature includes both intrinsic and extrinsic muscles with the intrinsic muscles positioned as slings linking pairs of large vibrissae within rows. We identified some differences in the extrinsic musculature which, interestingly, matched with behavioural data obtained through high-speed video recording, and indicated additional degrees of freedom for positioning the vibrissae in rats. These data show that the whisker movements of opossum and rat exploit similar underlying mechanisms. Paired with earlier results suggesting similar patterns of vibrissal movement, this strongly implies that early therian (marsupial and placental) mammals were whisking animals that actively controlled their vibrissae

人体解剖標本画像データベースの構築と公開

Image databases on four types of gross anatomy specimens were designed, constructed and demonstrated at two public exhibitions. Registrated specimens are collections at the faculty of medicine, the Univertsity of Tokyo. They consist of 1) mammalian skulls and skeletons collected by Dr. Ryousei Koganei, 2) dissected human bodies for gross anatomy coures at the faculty of medicine, 3) fixed brains of distinguished scholars, artists and statesmen, and 4) "plastinations" which are plastic embedded animal specimens made by newly developed technique at Medical Museum, the University of Tokyo between 1991 and 1994. Three types of database were constructed; a specimen database and a slide database contain text fields whereas an image databese contains not only text fields but also image fields. As a service device, Internet is thought to be adequate for researchers to look for some specific specimens whereas a magnet-optical disk or CD-ROM is convenient for students to look thorough information. Problems on distributing images and information of human specimens to public are also discussed

What can whiskers tell us about mammalian evolution, behaviour, and ecology?

Most mammals have whiskers; however, nearly everything we know about whiskers derives from just a handful of species, including laboratory rats Rattus norvegicus and mice Mus musculus, as well as some species of pinniped and marsupial. We explore the extent to which the knowledge of the whisker system from a handful of species applies to mammals generally. This will help us understand whisker evolution and function, in order to gain more insights into mammalian behaviour and ecology. This review is structured around Tinbergen’s four questions, since this method is an established, comprehensive, and logical approach to studying behaviour. We ask: how do whiskers work, develop, and evolve? And what are they for? While whiskers are all slender, curved, tapered, keratinised hairs that transmit vibrotactile information, we show that there are marked differences between species with respect to whisker arrangement, numbers, length, musculature, development, and growth cycles. The conservation of form and a common muscle architecture in mammals suggests that early mammals had whiskers. Whiskers may have been functional even in therapsids. However, certain extant mammalian species are equipped with especially long and sensitive whiskers, in particular nocturnal, arboreal species, and aquatic species, which live in complex environments and hunt moving prey. Knowledge of whiskers and whisker use can guide us in developing conservation protocols and designing enriched enclosures for captive mammals. We suggest that further comparative studies, embracing a wider variety of mammalian species, are required before one can make large-scale predictions relating to evolution and function of whiskers. More research is needed to develop robust techniques to enhance the welfare and conservation of mammals