This pattern is consistent with Ridgway and Brownson (1984), who found a positive relationship between surface area and brain weight among odontocetes, including the killer whale, bottlenose dolphin, and common dolphin. Number of times cited according to CrossRef: Large Brains in Small Tanks: Intelligence and Social Complexity as an Ethical Issue for Captive Dolphins and Whales. Magnetic resonance images of the brain of an adult killer whale were acquired in the coronal and axial planes. The most striking feature of the killer whale forebrain is the exceptional degree of cortical gyrification and sulcation, which is most apparent in Figures 3–10 and 15–18. Browse more videos. Elefante marino vs. Orcas en Argentina. In the present study, we present the first labeled sequential description of killer whale neuroanatomy. "The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology". But Emory's Marino said "it is important for us not to get caught up in this one whale. The findings are based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a postmortem brain. If you do not receive an email within 10 minutes, your email address may not be registered, So let's converse: Before you start thinking about orcas as if they were plush toys, check out this commentary from Georgetown University biologist Janet Mann. In general, it would not be surprising to find that there are adaptive features of the killer whale brain associated with the evolution of complex communicative abilities given the highly complex social structure of this species (Baird, 2000; Rendell and Whitehead, 2001; Yurk et al 2002). Rose, Ingrid N. Visser, Heather Rally, Hope Ferdowsian, Veronica Slootsky, The Harmful Effects of Captivity and Chronic Stress on the Well-being of Orcas (Orcinus orca), Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 10.1016/j.jveb.2019.05.005, (2019). That would be particularly stressful for a species so tied to family life that each pod has its own dialect of calls. These images allow for the visualizing of the distinctive features of the brain of this species from two orientations by preserving the gross morphological and internal structure of the specimen. "That really could worsen the situation.". "This means their brains are significantly larger in relative size than all other animals and second only to modern humans," Marino said. He was separated from his Icelandic family pod at the age of 2. Use the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. (1980) suggests that, on the basis of architectonic evidence, the operculum may cortically represent trigeminal (rostrum) and glossopharyngeal (nasal respiratory tract) innervation. But Marino said the Tilikum tragedy should instead spark a reassessment of the sea's most intelligent species. The killer whale shares with other odontocetes a three‐tiered arrangement of limbic, paralimbic, and supralimbic arcuate cortical lobules divided by deep limbic and paralimbic clefts (Figs. 5, 13, and 14). Finally, extreme development in the insular cortex and surrounding temporal operculum in the killer whale is intriguing. The Anatomical Record and Whales: We're Peas in the Same Pod. Enter your email address below and we will send you your username, If the address matches an existing account you will receive an email with instructions to retrieve your username, By continuing to browse this site, you agree to its use of cookies as described in our, I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of Use, The killer whale‐foraging specializations and group hunting, Cetacean societies: field studies of dolphins and whales, Mirror image processing in three marine mammal species: killer whales (, Golgi and Nissl studies of the visual cortex of the bottlenose dolphin, A quantitative study of neuronal and glial numerical density in the visual cortex of the bottlenose dolphin: evidence for a specialized subarea and changes with age, Implications of the “initial brain” concept for brain evolution in Cetacea, Ultrastucture of synapse and golgi analysis of neurons in neocortex of the lateral gyrus (visual cortex) of the dolphin and pilot whale, Immunohistochemistry of neurotransmitters in visual cortex of several toothed whales: light and electron microscopic study, Sensory abilities of cetaceans: laboratory and field evidence, Morphological and histological features of odontocete visual neocortex: immunocytochemical analysis of pyramidal and nonpyramidal populations of neurons, Calretinin‐immunoreactive neurons in the primary visual cortex of dolphin and human brains, Calcium‐binding protein‐containing neuronal populations in mammalian visual cortex: a comparative study in whales, insectivores, bats, rodents, and primates, Comparative immunocytochemistry of calcium‐binding protein‐positive neurons in visual and auditory systems of cetacean and primate brains, Cytoarchitectonics and immunocytochemistry of the inferior colliculus of midbrains in cetaceans, Comparative analysis of calcium‐binding protein‐immunoreactive neuronal populations in the auditory and visual systems of the bottlenose dolphin (, Brain sizes, surfaces and neuronal sizes of the cortex cerebri: a stereological investigation of man and his variability and a comparison with some mammals (primates, whales, marsupialia, insectivores and one elephant), The primary auditory cortex in cetacean and human brain: a comparative analysis of neurofilament protein‐containing pyramidal neurons, Distribution of dopaminergic fibers and neurons in visual and auditory cortices of the harbor porpoise and pilot whale, Cellular distribution of the calcium‐binding proteins parvalbumin, calbindin, and calretinin in the neocortex of mammals: phylogenetic and developmental patterns, Neurochemical and cellular specializations in the mammalian neocortex reflect phylogenetic relationships: evidence from primates, cetaceans, and artiodactyls, The anatomy of the brain of the bottlenose dolphin (, Lateralized cerebral peduncles, extensive midbrain pallidum, and other distinctive features of the midbrain of whales and dolphins, Multiple sensory projections in the dolphin cerebral cortex. Working off-campus? Section 10. Compared with other mammalian brains, the cetacean brain is, in many respects, highly unusual. Therefore, elaboration of cortical structures may represent the influence of scaling factors but quantitative assessments should be made to determine if nonscaling factors partially contribute to the variance. It has been hypothesized that this arrangement is not only unique to cetaceans but due to the distinctive flexed posture of the midbrain in adult cetaceans (Marino et al., 2001a, 2002, 2003a, 2003b; Johnson et al., 2003).