Whiskers: Milestone in Evolution of Mammals

Research comparing rats and mice with their distance relatives the marsupial, suggested that moveable whiskers were an important milestone in the evolution of mammals from reptiles.Using high-speed digital video recording and automatic tracking, the research team, which was led by Professor Tony Prescott from the from Sheffield University's Department of Psychology, have shed light on how rodents such as mice and rats move their whiskers back-and-forth at high speed and in varying ways to actively sense the environment around them in a behavior known as whisking. Whisking allows mice or rats to accurately determine the position, shape and texture of objects, make rapid and accurate decisions about objects, and then use the information to build environmental maps. For example when running in a straight line, rats and mice move their whiskers back-and-forth the same amount on both sides.