‘Bungee cord’ nerves discovered in whales enable binge feeding

‘Bungee cord’ nerves discovered in whales enable binge feeding

Recent study finds certain whales possess nerves which can stretch to nearly double their normal size during lunge feeding

The nerves in humans and a number of animals can get damaged when stretched, but a new study published in the latest issue of Current Biology has found a unique nerve structure in the mouth and tongue of certain species of whales that can double in length and simply recoil like a bungee cord. Researchers have discovered that these stretchy nerves are responsible for large whales’ ability to open their mouths extremely wide during lunge feeding, helping them consume a massive amount of prey.

During the recent study, researchers from University of British Columbia examined the carcass of a fin whale, an endangered species which can measure up to 88 feet long and 70 tons. They found that the nerves which supply the expandable tissues in the floor of the mouth of the blue whale, fin whale, humpback whale, sei whale, Omura’s whale, Bryde’s whale, Eden’s whale, common minke whale and Antarctic minke whale can stretch to double their length to accommodate dramatic changes in oral cavity dimensions. While lunge feeding, the force of the water rushing into its mouth turns a fin whale’s tongue upside down, expanding the bottom of its oral cavity. The pleated skin a fin whale possesses from the chin to nearly the belly button on the underside of its body balloons out as its mouth fills while feeding. After its nerves stretch to help its mouth widen, plates in the fin whale’s mouth allow it to filter out seawater so it can consume large quantities of small prey.

“This discovery underscores how little we know about even the basic anatomy of the largest animals alive in the oceans today,” said Nick Pyenson, a UBC postdoctoral fellow who works as curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. “Our findings add to the growing list of evolutionary solutions that whales evolved in response to new challenges faced in marine environments over millions of years.”

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