The sixth sense of dolphins

So far, we still know that dolphins have completely lost their sense of smell but still have 5 senses: sight, touch, hearing, taste and sonar positioning. Similar to bats, dolphins have the ability to emit ultrasonic waves, then feel the reflected waves to 'paint' the surrounding terrain and detect prey.

According to a study by scientists from the zoo Münster (Germany), published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Guyane dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) have the sixth sense of electric field sensing. They can sense small electric fields emitted from their prey.

Experts removed one of two Guyane dolphins at Münster zoo when he died. Before that, they still noticed that this dolphin has hair holes along its protruding promontory. In other mammals, this is the location of extremely important beards and touch bodies. After surgery on the hair follicle detail, the team did not find the 'vestiges' of the mustache but detected a mucus similar to that of the platypus mine, a type of endemic eggs in Australia. This mucus helps platypus have a very delicate electric field sensing system.

Dolphins have the ability to sense electric fields

To test the new discovery, scientists conducted 186 experiments with Paco, the zoo's remaining Guyane dolphin. As expected, Paco was able to sense electrical stimuli at extremely low, same intensity as the platypus. When the research team took the plastic bag around the muzzle of the snout, his ability completely disappeared.

So far, in addition to mammals, Guyane dolphins are the only mammal animals that scientists have found to be able to sense electric fields. However, this sensation is very common in many fish species. For example, with scary eyes, sharks will probably be hungry if they don't feel the electricity while hunting. Some types of fish can also generate electric fields around them. All 'uninvited' guests who touch the 'forbidden area' will hit the owner and be immediately located.

As for Guyane dolphins, because Paco lives in captivity, it is not possible to say exactly in the natural environment, how they use the electric field sensing ability. According to the team, because the habitat of this dolphin is muddy because of muddy water, it is possible that they will use electric field sensing to determine the prey near and transmit ultrasound to detect distant prey.