Overview

The monotremes are an unusual and evolutionarily important group of mammals showing striking behavioural and physiological adaptations to their niches. They are the only mammals exhibiting electroreception (in the trigeminal sensory pathways) and the echidna shows distinctive olfactory specialisations. This book brings together current information on the development, structure, function and behavioural ecology of the monotremes. 

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9780643103115

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Reviews

Much of the book focuses on sensory systems, including those for electroreception, and olfaction, which is poorly developed in the platypus and well developed in the echidna. Another focus is on brain development, with early development determined from embryos taken from eggs. Chapters end with a section on remaining questions, including those concerned with the nature of sleep in the echidna and the functions of the echidna's proportionately large frontal cortex. As an added bonus, detailed atlases of the mature and developing brains of the echidna and platypus are included. This is a publication that enriches our understanding, provokes wonder, and makes us want to know more. --Quarterly Review of Biology

Author Information

Ken Ashwell has over 33 years' experience in the neurosciences. He has published over 110 papers in international refereed journals, 23 book chapters and six books. He has also published four atlases in collaboration with George Paxinos and contributed many chapters to prestigious and definitive works on the structure, function and development of the human and mouse nervous systems. He has published over 50 major works (papers, books, book chapters) on comparative neuroscience of Australasian mammals and birds; 26 of these have been on monotreme neuroscience and 26 on marsupial neuroscience.

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