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Full-Text Articles in Organisms
The Evolutionary History Of Cetacean Brain And Body Size, Stephen H. Montgomery, Jonathan H. Geisler, Michael R. Mcgowen, Charlotte Fox, Lori Marino, John Gatesy
The Evolutionary History Of Cetacean Brain And Body Size, Stephen H. Montgomery, Jonathan H. Geisler, Michael R. Mcgowen, Charlotte Fox, Lori Marino, John Gatesy
Lori Marino, PhD
Cetaceans rival primates in brain size relative to body size and include species with the largest brains and biggest bodies to have ever evolved. Cetaceans are remarkably diverse, varying in both phenotypes by several orders of magnitude, with notable differences between the two extant suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti.We analyzed the evolutionary history of brain and body mass, and relative brain size measured by the encephalization quotient (EQ), using a data set of extinct and extant taxa to capture temporal variation in the mode and direction of evolution. Our results suggest that cetacean brain and body mass evolved under strong directional …
Cetaceans And Primates: Convergence In Intelligence And Self-Awareness, Lori Marino
Cetaceans And Primates: Convergence In Intelligence And Self-Awareness, Lori Marino
Lori Marino, PhD
Cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales) have been of greatest interest to the astrobiology community and to those interested in consciousness and selfawareness in animals. This interest has grown primarily from knowledge of the intelligence, language and large complex brains that many cetaceans possess. The study of cetacean and primate brain evolution and cognition can inform us about the contingencies and parameters associated with the evolution of complex intelligence in general, and, the evolution of consciousness. Striking differences in cortical organization in the brains of cetaceans and primates along with shared cognitive capacities such as self-awareness, culture, and symbolic concept comprehension, …