Correlating Cochlear Morphometrics from Parnell's Mustached Bat (Pteronotus parnellii) with Hearing.

Morphometric analysis of the inner ear of mammals can provide information for cochlear frequency mapping, a species-specific designation of locations in the cochlea at which different sound frequencies are encoded. Morphometric variation occurs in the hair cells of the organ of Corti along the cochlea, with the base encoding the highest frequency sounds and the apex encoding the lowest frequencies. Changes in cell shape and spacing can yield additional information about the biophysical basis of cochlear tuning mechanisms.