Fused Traditional and Geometric Morphometrics Demonstrate Pinniped Whisker Diversity

摘要: Vibrissae (whiskers) are important components of the mammalian tactile sensory system, and primarily function as detectors vibrotactile information from environment. Pinnipeds possess largest vibrissae among mammals their vibrissal hair shafts demonstrate a diversity shapes. The most phocid seals exhibit beaded morphology with repeating sequences crests troughs along length. However, there few detailed analyses pinniped morphology, these limited to species. Therefore, we comparatively characterized differences in shaft morphologies species profile, smooth otariids profile using traditional geometric morphometric methods. Traditional measurements (peak-to-peak distance, crest width, trough width total length) were collected digital photographs. Elliptic Fourier analysis (geometric morphometrics) was used quantify outlines whole vibrissae. datasets subsequently combined by mathematically scaling each true rank, followed single eigendecomposition. Quadratic discriminant demonstrated that 79.3, 97.8 100% individuals could be correctly classified based on shape variables traditional, analyses, respectively. Phocids vibrissae, phocids occupied distinct morphospace data analyses. Otariids split into two groups gray appeared intermediate between beaded- smooth-whiskered Vibrissal modulate transduction environmental stimuli mechanoreceptors follicle-sinus complex (F-SC), which results reception, but it is currently unclear how shapes affects signal modulation.