Is there any evolutionary advantage to having protruding ears? Do they help to synthesise by catching more sunlight?
• The convolutions of the human outer ear help you to pinpoint sources of sound in three dimensions. Among other things, this lets you know, for example, that the mosquito that has been bugging you all evening is currently hovering to the right, at shoulder level and behind you. It’s arguable that the more your ears protrude, the better you are at doing this.
If, however, you are a desert-dwelling fennec fox, you would find that your large outer ears amplify the sounds of burrowing creatures – your food – beneath the sands. They would also keep you cool by radiating excess heat.
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And if you are a baby elephant in the circus and hold a magic feather in your trunk, then your large floppy ears enable you to fly.
“If you are a baby elephant and hold a magic feather in your trunk, then your large ears enable you to fly”
Joseph Mockus, Columbus, Ohio, US