Convergent Evolution in Whales & Bats

What is echolocation?

• A method of seeing using light

• A strategy of emitting sound to locate objects

• A technique for finding food using smell

• A way to communicate with other animals

Which animals are known to use echolocation?

• Only dolphins and shrews

• All types of whales and birds

• Toothed whales and certain groups of bats

• All mammals and reptiles

How do bats produce the sounds used in echolocation?

• By clapping their jaws

• By vibrating their wings

• By pushing air through their nasal cavity

• By using their larynx to emit ultrasound pulses

What is the 'melon' in echolocating whales?

• A part of their tail

• A bone in their ear

• A special fatty organ that focuses sound

• A type of food they eat

How do whales hear the reflections of their echolocation sounds?

• Through their eyes

• Through their fins

• Through their larynx

• Through fatty structures in their lower jaw

What gene was found to be nearly identical in both echolocating bats and dolphins?

• Larynx

• Nasal

• Melon

• Prestin

What is the role of the gene Prestin?

• Regulates the heartbeat

• Controls the movement of fins

• Helps in the digestion of food

• Involved in the motility of outer hair cells in the ear

What did the research team find surprising about the gene Prestin?

• It was not involved in hearing

• It was identical in all animals

• It clustered together in dolphins and echolocating bats

• It was only found in humans

What is convergent evolution?

• When species evolve to become more different

• When species evolve to live in the same habitat

• When unrelated species evolve similar traits

• When species stop evolving

What is remarkable about the similarities between bats and toothed whales?

• Their echolocation mechanisms are anatomically identical

• They share the same habitat

• They have the same diet

• Their hearing-related genes and proteins are similar despite different anatomical mechanisms