It turns out, dinosaurs also had great hearing – which made them even better hunters than previously thought

( Natural News ) Birds possess sharp hearing, all the better to catch their prey. A new study on alligators suggests that the crocodilians share the same ability. And both groups of animals might have shared the same keen sense of hearing with dinosaurs. Birds are often described as feathery dinosaurs. Crocodilians are also considered to be the closest living relations to the extinct “terrible lizards.” All three groups of animals share a common ancestor called archosaurs. Researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) revealed that alligators use the same auditory-based method as birds. Based on the discovery, their shared archosaur ancestors might have tracked prey and predators alike with their sense of hearing as much as they did with their eyes. To give a better idea of how sharp the hearing of a bird is, a barn owl can detect a mouse scurrying under a layer of snow. Next, the bird-of-prey uses a technique called interaural time difference. It develops a neural map based on where the mouse-related sounds are coming from. Using that map, the owl delivers death from above on the mouse. Alligators and birds use the same techniques to localize the source of sounds UMD researchers chose American alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis ) for their study. They found that the alligators also use the same interaural time difference technique as birds . The interaural time difference (ITD) is the disparity in the time it takes for a sound to reach each ear. Animals calculate these diminutive differences to figure out the direction from which a sound originated. Support our mission and protect your health: Organic Seeds of Life combines Red Raspberry Seed Power, Black Cumin Seed Power and Red Grape Seed Powder into the most potent nutrient-rich supplemental superfood powder you’ve ever experienced. Loaded with […]

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