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Which animal hears without ears?

Question #132444. Asked by romeomikegolf.
Last updated Sep 01 2016.
Originally posted Sep 06 2013 11:11 PM.

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froggyx star
Answer has 10 votes
Currently Best Answer
froggyx star
17 year member
114 replies avatar

Answer has 10 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.

Sep 06 2013, 11:46 PM
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Godwit star
Answer has 5 votes
Godwit star
15 year member
126 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.
Newts, salamanders and snakes all lack ears, yet can hear. But they are not animals. Harp, Leopard, Harbor and other types of seals lack pinnae, the portion of ears that stick out, so they appear to have no ears. They and other animals without pinnae have similar inner ear structure to other animals, and also very strong hearing.



Response last updated by Terry on Sep 01 2016.
Sep 07 2013, 1:10 AM
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looney_tunes star
Answer has 10 votes
looney_tunes star
Moderator
19 year member
3319 replies avatar

Answer has 10 votes.
Godwit wrote: "Newts, salamanders and snakes all lack ears, yet can hear. But they are not animals."

Newts, salamanders and snakes are definitely animals!

This site gives a reasonably accessible (although somewhat simplified) explanation of the current five-kingdom classification scheme:
1. Monera - single-celled organisms with no cell nucleus
2. Protista - single-celled organism with a cell nucleus
3. Fungi - multi-cellular organisms with no chloroplasts and no mechanism for movement; acquire nutrients by absorption
4. Plantae - multi-cellular organisms with chloroplasts which make nutrients through photosynthesis
5. Animalia - multi-cellular organisms with no chloroplasts which acquire nutrients by ingestion

link http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/studies/invertebrates/kingdoms.html

Response last updated by Terry on Sep 01 2016.
Sep 07 2013, 2:09 AM
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mehaul star
Answer has 5 votes
mehaul star
15 year member
477 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.
Don't forget turtles and the rest of the reptile family.

Whales and dolphins (both are mammals) lack ears but must hear since they respond to sounds (in fact some speculate they navigate by echo-location like bats).

Most birds lack ear structures. The ones that seem to have them (owls) only have feather horns which may impact hearing ability but aren't considered ears.

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ears

Sep 07 2013, 7:11 AM
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