The Relationship Between Structure, Innervation and Function of the Skin of the Bottle Nose Dolphin (Tu Rsiops Truncatus)

A study of the structure and innervation of dolphin skin from different sites is presented and the findings evaluated in the light of behavioural studies. The suggestion is made that the skin plays an important part in the economy of the animal by (1) insuring fully laminar flow at high speed and (2) the detection and location of low‐frequency vibrations of focal origin.