113 - Paranasal Anatomy of Bats (Order Chiroptera): Accessory Spaces for Sensing and Secretions

Poster Board Number: 113
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Abstract Body : Bats are notable for their great variation in the projection of the snout, including the paranasal cavities that extend laterally from the main nasal chamber. These spaces are notably diminutive in some bats, and capacious in others. Here we use histology to ascertain functional microanatomy of these accessory chambers in 35 species of bats from 13 families. Specimens were sectioned at 10 µm in the coronal plane and stained. Numerous bats lack paranasal chambers, including many in the suborder Yangochiroptera; however, all phyllostomids in our sample do possess a maxillary recess (MR) including its main structural content, the lateral nasal gland (LNG), which is purported to aid in the conditioning of inspired air. All also possess frontal recesses with one or more frontoturbinals, structure that are typically lined with olfactory mucosa. In our sample, the only other yangochiropteran possessing an MR and a frontal recess is Mystacina tuberculata, which has an extremely large pair of frontoturbinals. Another extreme variant is seen in Miniopterus spp., where the LNG is expanded posterior to the ethmoturbinals, nested in an entirely non-olfactory cul-de-sac. Most bats of the suborder Yinpterochiroptera in our sample lack a MR, with the exception of Megaderma lyra and all pteropodids. Many bats in this suborder also lack frontoturbinals. Those yinpterochiropterans that lack paranasal recesses still possess a LNG, but it is positioned in the mucosa of the lateral nasal wall dorsal to the maxilloturbinal. Pteropodids possess an MR and an extremely expansive LNG, which at least partially occupy all of the ventral paranasal spaces. These results reveal diverse morphologies relating to olfactory as well as air conditioning functions.