The basilar papilla is the auditory

sensory organ A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

of lizards, amphibians, and birds, which is homologous to the

organ of Corti The organ of Corti, or spiral organ, is the receptor organ for hearing and is located in the mammalian cochlea. This highly varied strip of epithelial cells allows for transduction of auditory signals into nerve impulses' action potential. Trans ...

in mammals. The basilar papilla is composed of cells called "hair cells" which are actually

epithelial Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellu ...

cells rather than true hairs. These sensory cells, according to some studies, are related to the type II sensory cells in the vestibular epithelium of mammals. These auditory hair cells, unlike those in mammals, are known to spontaneously regenerate following injury, with experimental evidence showing that this ability to proliferate is mediated by a

micro-RNA MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21 to 23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals and some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRN ...

called miR181a. One amphibian who utilizes the basilar papilla during its mate choice is the

spring peeper The spring peeper (''Pseudacris crucifer'') is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and Canada. They prefer permanent ponds due to their advantage in avoiding predation; however, they are very adaptable with respect ...

. The basilar papilla units that are located in the inner ear of the female are tuned between 2100 and 3700 Hz. Low frequency calls exhibited by male spring peepers are easier to detect and are there for favored by the females. The specific tuning of the basilar papilla units within the ear, allows for this mate selection to occur.

References

{{reflist Sensory organs in animals Auditory system