Elephant hearing (original) (raw)
August 01 1998
University of Helsinki, Department of Ecology and Systematics, Zoological Laboratory, P.O. Box 17, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland
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University of Helsinki, Department of Ecology and Systematics, Zoological Laboratory, P.O. Box 17, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Search for other works by this author on:
Helsinki University of Technology, Laboratory of Physics, Otakaari 1, FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland
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J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 104, 1122–1123 (1998)
Elephants’ vocalizations and movements have recently been shown to produce seismic waves (Rayleigh waves). This may be relevant for the well-known long-distance communication of these animals. It is suggested here that elephants may sense ground vibrations as a result of bone conduction producing a differential vibration of the middle ear ossicles in relation to the skull. This hypothesis is supported by the exceptionally massive ossicles of the Indian and African elephants. The acoustics of bone conduction is reviewed and related to the anatomy of the elephant middle ear.
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© 1998 Acoustical Society of America.
1998
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