{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:46:39Z","timestamp":1789433199713,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2007,5,21]],"date-time":"2007-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1179705600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["The Anatomical Record"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) have developed extensive protective barriers to exclude water or food from the respiratory tract, including valvular nostrils, an intranarial elongated larynx, and a sphincteric soft palate. A barrier breach can be lethal, as asphyxiation may occur from incursions of water (drowning) or food (choking). Humpback whales (<jats:italic>Megaptera novaeangliae<\/jats:italic>), however, exhibit a possibly unique and paradoxical behavior concerning respiratory protection: they release a \u201cbubble cloud\u201d (a cluster of tiny bubbles) underwater from the mouth. How they do this remains unclear. This study tests the hypothesis that the larynx plays a role in enabling bubble cloud emission. The anatomy and position of the larynx was examined in seven specimens of <jats:italic>Megaptera novaeangliae<\/jats:italic>. Results indicate that the epiglottis can be manually removed from behind the soft palate and placed in the oral cavity during dissection. Unlike that of toothed whales (odontocetes), the humpback whale larynx does not appear to be permanently intranarial. The elongated and trough\u2010shaped epiglottis may function as a tube when placed against the undersurface of the soft palate and, thus, facilitate channeling air from the larynx to the oral cavity. The pointed tip and lateral edges of the epiglottis fit tightly against the undersurface of the soft palate, perhaps functioning as a one\u2010way valve that lets air out but prevents water from entering. Bubble cloud generation likely involves air passing directly from the larynx into the oral cavity, and then expulsion through the mesh of the baleen plates. A laryngeal\u2013oral connection, however, compromises the anatomical aquatic adaptations that normally protect the respiratory tract. A potential for drowning exists during the critical interval in which the larynx is intraoral and during re\u2010insertion back to the normal intranarial position. The retention of this risky behavior indicates the importance of bubble clouds in predator avoidance, prey capture, and\/or social signaling. Anat Rec, 290:569\u2013580, 2007. \u00a9 2007 Wiley\u2010Liss, Inc.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.20537","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2007,5,25]],"date-time":"2007-05-25T12:21:02Z","timestamp":1180095662000},"page":"569-580","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":32,"title":["Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales (<i>Megaptera novaeangliae<\/i>)"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"290","author":[{"given":"Joy S.","family":"Reidenberg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeffrey T.","family":"Laitman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2007,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1139\/z84-282"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1097-4687(199606)228:3<223::AID-JMOR1>3.0.CO;2-3"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_4_1","first-page":"428","volume-title":"Encyclopedia of marine mammals","author":"Croll DA","year":"2002"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_5_1","first-page":"259","article-title":"Feeding behavior of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, in the western North Atlantic","volume":"80","author":"Hain JHW","year":"1982","journal-title":"Fish Bull"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511525766"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_7_1","first-page":"69","article-title":"Feeding modes of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae in southeastern Alaska","volume":"31","author":"Jurasz CM","year":"1979","journal-title":"Sci Rep Whales Res Inst Tokyo"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01321770"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_9_1","first-page":"3","article-title":"The human aerodigestive tract and gastroesophageal reflux: an evolutionary perspective","volume":"103","author":"Laitman JT","year":"1998","journal-title":"Am J Med"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_10_1","first-page":"286","article-title":"Evolution of the vocal folds in cetaceans","volume":"12","author":"Laitman JT","year":"1999","journal-title":"Eur Res Cetaceans"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_11_1","first-page":"24","article-title":"Trapped within a \u201cwall of sound.\u201d","volume":"29","author":"Leighton TG","year":"2004","journal-title":"Acoust Bull"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_12_1","first-page":"8","volume-title":"Cetacean acoustics in bubbly water. 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Conf. \u201cUnderwater acoustic measurements: technologies and results\u201d Crete","author":"Leighton TG","year":"2005"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.20539"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_14_1","volume-title":"Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology","author":"Mead JG","year":"1975"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1121\/1.4786570"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_16_1","volume-title":"The comparative anatomy and physiology of the larynx","author":"Negus VE","year":"1949"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1006\/jmsc.1998.0416"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.1092180115"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.1092210413"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.1092400417"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_21_1","first-page":"259","article-title":"Identifying the sound source in mysticetes","volume":"12","author":"Reidenberg JS","year":"1999","journal-title":"Eur Res Cetaceans"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.20544"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1139\/z97-093"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1139\/z86-316"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1163\/156853982X00067"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1379766"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_27_1","unstructured":"WeinrichMT SchillingMR GriffithsR BoveJ.1992a.Behavioral development in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the southern Gulf of Maine. Proceedings of the 8th Conference of the European Cetacean Society San Remo Italy. p103\u2013107."},{"key":"e_1_2_7_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0003-3472(05)80318-5"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_29_1","first-page":"826","article-title":"A shift in distribution of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, in response to prey in the southern Gulf of Maine","volume":"95","author":"Weinrich MT","year":"1997","journal-title":"Fish Bull"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.20538"}],"container-title":["The Anatomical Record"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/api.wiley.com\/onlinelibrary\/tdm\/v1\/articles\/10.1002%2Far.20537","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ar.20537","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]],"date-time":"2025-10-08T14:47:22Z","timestamp":1759934842000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/ar.20537"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2007,5,21]]},"references-count":29,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/ar.20537"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ar.20537","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-8486","1932-8494"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-8486","type":"print"},{"value":"1932-8494","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2007,5,21]]}}}