旧世界コウモリ類における喉頭器官の三次元比較解剖と超音波発声の多様性進化

Microbats are capable of utilising echolocation to perceive their surroundings. They generate ultrasonic pulses from their larynx and receive the echoes via the auditory apparatus. Behavioural studies have revealed that the echolocation behaviour and frequencies adopted among bat species are highly diverse. Therefore, the larynx, which is composed of the cartilaginous cricoid, thyroid and arytenoid and soft-tissue vocal folds and laryngeal muscles, is expected to exhibit diversity in its anatomy. However, in contrast to the auditory apparatus, which has been extensively studied to date, the bat larynx remains poorly described, and our knowledge has not been advanced significantly since the pioneering study of Elias in 1907.

In order to understand the correspondence between echolocation behaviour and laryngeal anatomy in bats, we three-dimensionally examined the larynx in Old World species using high-resolution DiceCT technique (Metscher, 2009).