Abstract: The cetacean auditory system is characterized by a series of unique morphological adaptations, one of the most interesting being the capacity to select frequencies for the fine discrimination of acoustic images through auditory canals, which act like frequency filters. In a healthy organism, this frequency selectivity of the hearing system is directly, and evolutively, related with the habitat use, and thus characterizes every cetacean species. Non-invasive electrophysiological methods allow assessing the hearing system functionality of any particular individual and to determine through the analysis of the audiogram its capacities to correctly use its habitat. Here, we demonstrate the evidence of deafness in a young stranded female striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, which cancelled her possibility to process correctly any acoustic information.

Key Words: DEAF; STENELLA; STRIPED DOLPHIN; AUDIOGRAM; EVOKED POTENTIAL; ABR; EP; EFR

Document Type: Research article

Pages:  3-8