Comparative studies of hearing in vertebrates

97

Behauioural F’rocesses, 8(1983) 97-106 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company,

Amsterdam

- Printed

in The Netherlands

Book Reviews

COMPARATIVE

STUDIES OF HEARING

Comparative

Studies

Fay (Editors). $ U.S. approx.

of Hearina&Vertebrates.

Springer-Verlag, 46.10,

principles

and limited

say in the preface,

of vertebrate

concerns

disappoint

auditory

for the mammalian

those interested

mainly

collected

The book consists

carried

nomic arrangement.

of America

auditory

studies on functional localization mammals.

aspects

and other

Perhaps

the most complete on hearing

Northcutt

discusses

opinions

data.

vertebrates.

Capranica

in fishes,

problems,

peripheral

auditory

between

auditory

distortion

Miller,

birds and mammals

the auditory

of underwater

reptiles

and

and finally, sound

in birds and

is given in the

patterns

experimental

structural

and

system of fishes

and

review of direction<

sound localization.

in the light of recent

paper Lombard

evaluates

results

suppression)

analysis

contribution

various

to the ears of other

are of particular

basis for frequency

The

reading.

ear in relation

in his excellent

a taxo-

neuroohysiology,

particularly

and two-tone

These findings

of the mechanical

inner ear in general.

studies.

amphibians,

after a critical

pathways

of the

follows

compler.lented by functioni

and central

worth

and Euwalda,

of the amphibian

system.

the

in scope and approach.

on past and recent research

and tloffat present

(intermodulation

understanding

systems

a mode 1 description

anamniotic

are varied

sonetimes

In a short but very valuable

properties

this,

of a significant

Fay and Popper stress significant

Schuijf

on the evolution

it will

elsewhere,

of topics

of experimental

are certainly

overview

propose

in

to specif-

Despite

at a joint meeting

reports

in anamniotes,

and similarities

vertebrates.

in fishes,

anatomical

Therefore system.

studies

such as peripheral

in fishes.

diversities

terrestrial

interest

as opposed

been discussed

The sequence

themselves

psychoacoustic

articles

hearing

auditory

systems

All the contributions

functional

auditory

of papers presented

and Japan.

morphologic

of peripheral

birds, on central

have already

some, detailed

include comparative

considerations

the growing

or even human systems.

The communications

Most are review articles, chapters

reflects

out over the past two decades.

of a collection

Societies

R.

1980, xiv + 457 pp.

here have much to offer and are representative

part of the research

acoustical

N. Popper and Richard Berlin,

system organization,

in the mammalian

and the fact that some of the problems reports

Arthur

New York, Heidelberg,

ISBN o-387-90460-3.

This book, as the editors general

IN VERTEBRATES

on nonlinear of the anuran's

interest

for an

in the vertebrate on the reptilian

98 cochlear

duct,

to functional

outlines and

the major

phylogenetic

structural

relation

to morphological

features

of

Turner.

Four

chapters

the

are

authors

make

All of

the

significant

avian

and

of

frequent

differences

mammalian

ear

biologically on

his

The

relevant

remarkable

four

intense

in the

sounds

field.

same

in other

visual sing

cortex, recent

larly

on

structural

and

There

behavioural

questions,

in fact

could

mainly

concern

significance.

Readers

of

find

many

journal

stimulating

Since

the

who ideas

auditory

a better

may

about

between

help

cortex,

system than

structure

in acoustic them

of

studies

on

may

be

led

from

that

for

to the of

asking

These

and

will

discus-

particu-

have

problems. function

the

to the

Knight

will

Bullock

their

owl. the

in mammals

and

behaviour

to adjust

picture

of mammals T.H.

to

primarily

in contrast

which

and

(Dooling).

barn

cortex

unresolved

the

by the

the

by Goldstein

choice

of same

in response

hearing

complete

pressures

In spite

concentrates

partial

auditory

selective

interested

which

(Yost)

chapter

questions,

relation

are

the

the

neurons

on directional

the

are

by

of birds.

properties

Knudson

in

system.

localization

a very

in the auditory

been

pertinent

only

of mammalian

discusses

have

sound

in man

known,

changes

not

very

vioural

this

well

give

chapter

organization

Stebbins

reptiles.

questions

less

the

appreciated.

The

vertebrates.

is much

data

audition

auditory

auditory

Sinnott). on

in relation

in depth

system

relations

by the

study

labyrinth

is treated

the mechanical

shown

psychoacoustics

on

and

also

in this

and

ear

to the mammalian

Woolf,

the

neurophysiology

to the acoustic

psychoacoustic

that

(Gourevitch)

reptilian

devoted

anatomy

(Sachs,

of

Peripheral

many

are

on mammalian

research

the

reference

recently-published

chapters

subject

book

(Saito)

f~lammal-like characteristics

variations

considerations.

no

research

their

beha-

doubt strategy.

Georg Baron Universite de Montreal, Case Postale 6128, Succursale "A", MontrPal, P.Q., H3C 357 Canada

ANIMAL

PLAY BEHAVIOUR

R.M. Fagan. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, Animal Play Behavior. ISBN 1981, 684 PP., E21.00 hard covers/fl0.50 paperback, ISBN O-19-502760-4/ O-19-502761-2.

'Play has odds almost

with

each

undefinable

confused

other

and befuddled

researchers

like no other topic.

(to the extent

and set them

By its very nature,

that two common

definitions

of

at

it is play