Sensory biology of elasmobranchs
Abstract
© 2004 by CRC Press LLC. Sharks have become practically legendary for their sensory abilities. Some of the recognition is deserved, and some is often exaggerated. Accounts of sharks being able to smell or hear a single fish from miles away may be fish stories, but controlled measurements of elasmobranch sensory function have revealed that these animals possess an exquisite array of sensory systems for detecting prey and conspecifics, avoiding predators and obstacles, and orienting in the sea. This sensory array provides information to a central nervous system (CNS) that includes a relatively large brain, particularly in the rays and galeomorph sharks, whose brain-to-body weight ratios are comparable to those of birds and mammals (Northcutt, 1978).