Abstract
The directional sensitivity of two Pteronotus parnellii bats to the first, second, and third harmonics of their echolocating signal was measured binaurally, under free field conditions, by recording the summated neural response at the lateral lemniscus. A speaker was mounted on a perimeter that could be rotated to form a hemisphere in front of the bat. Speaker angles were selected randomly, contralateral to the recording site, 50 cm from the bat's head. The area of greatest sensitivity to the first harmonic was 40‐ to 60‐deg azimuth and −20 to −40 deg elevation. The response to the second harmonic was more medial ranging from 10‐ to 30‐deg azimuth and 0 to −10 deg elevation. Most medial was the response to the third harmonic frequency that ranged from 0‐ to 15‐deg azimuth and 0 to −10 deg elevation. The areas of greatest sensitivity (2 dB above threshold) to the first and third harmonics were more medial than areas where intensity differences at opposite ears afford the most precise localization [Z. M. Fuzessery and G. D. Pollak, Science 225, 725–728 (1984)]. This suggests that time disparities may be more important for sound localization in bats than was thought. [Research was supported by NSF grant BNS‐8311627.]
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