Which animal has the biggest ears?

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Which animal has the biggest ears? You might think this is the the elephant, and you would be right – sort of. As the largest living land animal, the African elephant has the largest ears of any living animal, according to Mary Ellen Holden, zoologist and mammalogist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. But the creature with the largest ears for its body size is the long-eared jerkin (Nose of Euchoreutes), an insectivorous nocturnal rodent that lives in the deserts of China and Mongolia.

The long-eared jerkin (rhymes with Samoa) measures about 10 centimeters from head to rump (not counting its long tail). Its ears, 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5 cm) long, measure 40% to 50% of its body length.

“He has the longest ears for the size of his body in the entire animal kingdom,” Holden told Live Science. For comparison, the African elephant’s ears are on average almost 1.2m long, according to Holden, but that’s only about 17% of their body length, which averages 6 to 7.5 m (20 to 25 feet).

Related: Why are the ears so oddly shaped?

In 2007, the long-eared jerkin, rarely seen on camera, made the news with a video taken during a Zoological Society of London trip to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. The creature is “a bit like the Mickey Mouse of the desert,” said expedition leader and conservation biologist Jonathan Baillie, as described in the video.

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The African elephant has the largest ears of any animal, but the ears, which can be almost 1.2 meters in length, are only 17% of the animal's body length. — African Elephant (Loxodonta africana): The African elephant has the largest ears of any animal, but the ears, which can be almost 1.2 meters long, are only 17% of the length of the animal body. (Image credit: Siegfried Modola / Stringer via Getty Images)

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Occupying somewhat cooler climates, where there is less need to dissipate heat, the Asian elephant has smaller ears than its African counterpart. — African Elephant (Loxodonta africana): The African elephant has the largest ears of any animal, but the ears, which can be almost 1.2 meters long, are only 17% of the length of the animal body. (Image credit: Nick Everett via Getty Images)

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This small wild cat - found in Africa, Asia and India - is known for its black tufted ears, which give it the nickname of the Desert Lynx. — Caracal (Caracal caracal): This small wild cat – found in Africa, Asia, and India – is known for its black tufted ears, which give it the nickname Desert Lynx, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. (Image credit: Martin Harvey via Getty Images)

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The smallest creature in the canine family, the fennec fox has the largest ear-to-body ratio of this group. — Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda): The smallest creature in the canine family, the fennec fox has the largest ear-to-body ratio of this group, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Foxes are 14 to 16 inches (35 to 40 cm) long, not including tails, and their ears are 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, making their ears 25% to 43% of their body length. (Image credit: Floridapfe from S. Korea Kim in Cherl via Getty Images)

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Some species of hares - which live in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico - have ears up to 7 inches (18 cm) long, or one-third the length of their body. — Jackrabbits (Lepus): Some species of jackrabbit – which live in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico – have ears up to 7 inches (18 cm) long, or one-third the length of their ears. body, according to National Geographic. (Image credit: Joe McDonald via Getty Images)

Why such big ears? Big ears help the long-eared jerkin and other mammals living in hot, dry environments to get rid of excess heat. “African elephants, fennec foxes, long-eared jerboas – they are able to thermoregulate by having rapid heat loss through the highly vascularized ears, “Holden said. The ears of these animals are large and thin, and they house many small blood vessels, a the ears, the blood releases heat into the air, helping the animal to cool off.

When the animal is warm, the blood vessels in its ears dilate to release even more heat, Holden said. At night, or whenever it is cold, animals’ blood vessels constrict to keep them warm.

“I think most people agree [that large ears] are generally correlated with warmer environments, ”Holden said. And if you look at African and Asian elephants, African elephant ears are much larger than Asian elephant ears because African elephants inhabit a warmer climate. “Asian elephant ears, measuring about 1.6 feet (0.5 m) long, make up only about 8% of their body length.

When it comes to heat dissipation strategies, using ears to cool off is a good adaptation to life in the desert. It serves as an alternative to sweating, allowing desert creatures to conserve water in an environment where this resource is scarce, according to Holden.

Large ears can also help the long-eared jerkin detect low-frequency sounds from its prey insects and predators, Holden said.

Originally posted on Live Science.

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