Furry and Fabulous
This marine animal has the densest fur of any mammal.
What is the sea otter?
To conserve energy, sea otters spend most of their lives doing this in the water.
What is floating?
The sense of touch belongs to this broader category of senses.
What are mechanical senses?
This brain region is responsible for processing touch signals.
What is the somatosensory cortex?
This mechanical sense allows animals to detect the movement of objects through touch.
What is mechanoreception?
Sea otter fur helps them stay warm because it traps this substance between the hairs.
What is air?
This is the maximum amount of time a sea otter can stay submerged.
What is about 5 minutes?
The otter’s paws are particularly rich in these specialized nerve endings.
What are mechanoreceptors?
Different areas of the somatosensory cortex correspond to different parts of the body, a concept known as this.
What is somatotopy?
Animals that rely on the sense of touch often have an increased number of these sensory structures.
What are mechanoreceptors?
Unlike blubber-reliant marine mammals, otters rely entirely on this feature to insulate themselves.
What is fur?
To navigate underwater, otters rely heavily on these instead of sight.
What are whiskers and paws?
Otters use this part of their body to detect prey in murky water.
What are whiskers?
The human brain has a highly sensitive area dedicated to this part of the body, which is also true for otters.
What are hands/paws?
Water-dwelling animals like otters and seals use this feature to detect prey by sensing water flow.
What are whiskers?
The density of an otter's fur is about this many hairs per square inch.
What is up to 1 million?
Otters have specialized touch receptors that allow them to detect movement in this medium.
What is water?
Touch sensitivity is processed in this part of the brain.
What is the somatosensory cortex?
The ability of animals to detect changes in water currents is an example of this sensory process.
What is hydrodynamic perception?
This principle explains how moving objects cause changes in water pressure that animals can sense.
What is fluid dynamics?
This sensory ability of otter paws is extremely developed and helps them detect prey.
What is touch sensitivity?
When foraging, otters use tools like rocks to break open this type of prey.
What are shellfish?
This species, known for its incredible sense of touch, can detect the slightest water disturbances.
What is the star-nosed mole?
The otter’s enhanced sense of touch is due to an enlarged region in this brain structure.
What is the cerebral cortex?
This specialized structure allows some fish and amphibians to detect the flow of water around them.
What is the lateral line system?