Delphinidae — Overview

dolphins, killer whales, pilot whales, and relatives learn more about names for this taxon

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High resolution biosonar of dolphins, bats and mole rats gives an accurate imaging by using real-time data processing.

   
  "Biosonar animals send ultrasonic sounds called 'pings' into the  environment. The shape of the returning signals, or echoes, determines  how these animals 'see' their surroundings, helping them to navigate or  hunt for prey. In a matter of tens of milliseconds, the neurons in the  animal's brain are capable of a full-scale analysis of their  surroundings represented in three dimensions, with little energy  consumption. Even with the aid of a supercomputer, which consumes  thousands of times more energy, humans cannot produce such an accurate  picture, Prof. Intrator says...'Animals explore pings with multiple filters or receptive fields, and we  have demonstrated that exploring each ping in multiple ways can lead to  higher accuracy,' he explains. 'By understanding sonar animals, we can  create a new family of ultrasound systems that will be able to explore  our bodies with more accurate medical imaging.'" (Hunka 2011:1)
  Learn more about this functional adaptation.

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