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Functional And Comparative Morphology Of The Nasal Cavity In Phyllostomid Bats, Thomas P. Eiting

Doctoral Dissertations

The functional morphology and evolution of the nasal cavity is poorly understood. The New World Leaf-nosed bats of the family Phyllostomidae are an excellent group of mammals in which to study the evolution of the nose and nasal cavity. Phyllostomids span a wide dietary diversity, which is correlated both with the shape of the rostrum as well as with reliance on olfaction, one of the key functions mediated by the nose and the focus of my dissertation. How does dietary diversity relate to differences in the olfactory anatomy of phyllostomids? I examined three neurological features thought to relate to olfactory …