A shark’s sense of smell is closely related to the shape of the olfactory organ in its nose. This was reported by the press service of Florida Atlantic University.
It is traditionally believed that sharks have an extremely sensitive sense of smell and can detect prey from miles away. At the same time, unlike other fish, the respiratory system of sharks is separated from the olfactory system – they perceive odors by pumping water through their nostrils. The differences in the olfactory systems of sharks are of particular interest, not only because of their beautiful “scent”, but also because these animals existed before the dinosaurs and adapted to the seas of many geological epochs.
American scientists conducted a morphological study of many olfactory rosettes found in the nose, describing their size and shape. To do this, they performed an MRI scan that filled the tissues with MRI contrast-enhanced iodine. It turned out that this organ does not change the shape or number of olfactory plates throughout the animal’s life, emphasizing the importance of this sense for sharks from the first days of life.
In addition, the authors found more lamellae in the longitudinal rosettes than in the short and broad stamens. The more dishes, the better the fish perceives odors, so the quality of the sense of smell depends on the internal structure of the nose.
Among the examined species, small-headed hammerhead fish (S. tiburo) narrow and long rosettes, as well as ordinary sea foxes (vulpinus) and mako sharks (I. oxyrinchus), the length of the rosettes is almost equal to its width, and the plates are smaller and less often located. Finally, in blacktip sharks (C. limbatus) and American long-nosed sharks (terraenovae) rosettes are moderate in size and shape compared to the previous two groups.