Adaptation of the vestibular system in cetaceans using common bottlenose dolphin as a model species

Dobri dupin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) je najpoznatiji pripadnik reda kitova (Cetacea), te je kozmopolit a živi u većini toplih mora diljem svijeta. Hrani se pretežito ribama i lignjama, a kako bi se kretao kroz vodu koja se kao medij dosta razlikuje od zraka, razvio je niz prilagodbi kojima mu je život pod vodom olakšan. Vjerojatno najzanimljivija prilagodba je adaptacija i redukcija vestibularnog sustava baš zato što je specifična za kitove i dupine. Njihovi su polukružni kanalići puno manji naspram tijela nego sto je to slučaj kod kopnenih sisavaca. Također je došlo do zaokretanja u odnosu na pužnicu. Mnogo je razloga zbog koje je moglo doći do ovakve adaptacije, a jedan od vjerojatnih je da je došlo do redukcije kako bi se smanjila osjetljivost na podražaje kako bi se životinji omogućilo brzo i akrobatsko kretanje u svim smjerovima kroz vodu.The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) is the most well-known member of the order Cetacea, and is the cosmopolitan species living in most of the warm seas across the world. Its diet consists mostly of fish and squids, and in order to move through the water which is a very different medium compared to air, it developed a series of adaptations that made it easier to live underwater. Probably the most interesting adaptation is the adjustment and the reduction of the vestibular system because it’s specific for dolphins and whales. Their semicircular canals are a lot smaller compared to their body side in contrast to the ones found in land mammals. There is also a slight rotation difference towards the cochlea. Many reasons could have led to this adaptation, and one of the most probable ones is that reduction happened so that the stimuli sensitivity is lowered as well, which allowed the animal quick and acrobatic movements in all directions through the water