Athena Review Image Archive ™
Canis latrans skull with auditory bullas
Skull of the coyote, showing auditory bullas (after Wang and Tedlock 2008, fig.3.1)
This view of the underside of the skull of the coyote (Canis latrans) reveals the twin bulbous areas in the skull's rear (arrow), known as the auditory bullas. This is the bony housing that protects the three ossicles, or tiny ear bones of the middle ear.
The ossicles consist of the malleus ("hammer"), incus ("anvil") and stapes ("stirrup") that together amplify the sounds received by the eardrum from outside, and transmit the amplified sound vibrations to the liquid medium of the inner ear, from which they are transformed into nerve signals for the brain.
Canids are dependent on their acute sense of hearing, making the development of their hearing mechanism one of the most important aspects of their evolution.
References
Wang, X. and R.H. Tedford. 2008 Dogs: Their Evolution. Columbia Univesity Press.
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