Definition
The Australian platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, and the two species of spine covered echidnas, Tachyglossus aculeatus and Zaglossus brujnii, are the only surviving species of monotremes. Among the three tribes of extant mammals, monotreme, marsupial and placental mammals, monotremes are the most primitive and limited to Eastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.
Since little is known about the role and function of the electric sense in echidnas this article focuses mainly on the platypus. The nocturnally diving platypus subsists entirely on live food caught during nightly dives in lakes and streams. With eyes, nostrils, and ear canals closed underwater, its ability to locate and catch mobile prey like crayfish, shrimp, and small fish is unlikely to depend exclusively on the remaining tactile sense of the bill which has long been known to be covered with mechanoreceptor organs. Behavioral experiments have shown that the platypus can detect weak electric fields. It...
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References
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Langner, G., Scheich, H. (2009). Electric Senses in Monotremes: Electroreception and Electrolocation in the Platypus and the Echidna. In: Binder, M.D., Hirokawa, N., Windhorst, U. (eds) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_2919
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_2919
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