Mechanical processing of acoustic information in the ear of the desert locust

The ears of the desert locust perform frequency analysis by using vibrational waves that travel across its heterogeneous eardrum. Similar to frequency separation achieved by the basilar membrane of the human cochlea, the locust eardrum localizes frequency components at specific anatomical eardrum locations where specific neural mechanoreceptors make physical contact with the eardrum. This is the first example of energy localization in a peripheral receptor; the mechanical basis for such behavior is discussed.