What adaptation prevents soil from entering the Zokor's auditory system?
Answer
Their external ears are either absent or vestigial
Living almost entirely underground subjects the zokor to constant contact with loose soil, making protection of sensitive sensory organs paramount. To mitigate the risk of soil infiltration into the ear canal, zokors have evolved highly reduced external auditory structures. Their external ears are either completely absent or exist only in a vestigial form, meaning they are underdeveloped remnants. This morphological feature is a direct evolutionary response to their fossorial lifestyle, protecting the delicate inner workings of the hearing apparatus from abrasive soil particles and pressure fluctuations encountered during extensive tunneling activities.
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