Science News Hubb
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
Science News Hubb
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News

Bats and death metal singers use the same throat structure to growl

admin by admin
November 29, 2022
in Science News


Daubenton’s bats use false vocal folds in their throat to produce a lower frequency grunt for communication – the same structure that lets death metal singers growl



Life



29 November 2022

By Sam Jones

Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) have false vocal folds like humans

Jens Rydell

Bats are known for their high-frequency calls, which they use to echolocate and catch prey, but they also let out much lower frequency calls for bat-to-bat communication. The structure in a bat’s larynx that lets them produce these sounds is the same one used by death metal singers to growl out low notes.

For decades, scientists speculated as to which structures in a bat’s larynx produce different frequencies. “But that was just through anatomical inspection,” says Jonas Håkansson at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. “And then we went ahead and said, ‘Well, is that actually the case?’”

Håkansson and his colleagues affixed individual larynges dissected from Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) with a microphone and placed them under a microscope. They then funnelled air up through the larynx, simulating how it would travel out of a vocalising bat’s mouth. This airflow caused structures in the larynx to vibrate and produce sound, which the researchers captured with an ultra-high-speed camera. The researchers pinpointed two laryngeal structures responsible for the extreme highs and lows of a bat’s vocal range, which spans three or four more octaves than the average human’s.

They found that high-frequency echolocation calls are produced by thin, translucent vocal membranes that rest atop the vocal cords. Lower frequency squeaks came from the bats’ false vocal folds, which get their name from the fact that “in humans they are rarely used, never for speech”, says Coen Elemans at the University of Southern Denmark. False vocal folds are, however, believed to be used in extreme vocalisers like death metal grunters. In a way, says Elemans, social squeaks are a bat’s version of death metal. “It’s a very high frequency sound for us,” he says. “But for them, it’s extremely low.”

Håkansson is impressed but not surprised that bats use two distinct structures to make vocalisations that span around seven octaves. “It’s sort of like having one pair of legs for walking and one pair for running,” he says.

Yossi Yovel at Tel Aviv University in Israel is impressed by the work and would like to see it validated in a living animal, but getting high-speed footage of the inside of a vocalising bat isn’t currently possible. “I’m just waiting for the technology that will allow us to do it,” he says.

Although the average human can’t compete with a bat, Elemans says the exceptional vocalist shouldn’t lose hope. For example, Mariah Carey has a five-octave vocal range and is known for being able to sing extremely high tones called whistle notes. “If Mariah Carey would be very good at grunting, she could also extend her vocal range even further.”

Journal reference: PLoS Biology, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001881

Sign up for Wild Wild Life, a free monthly newsletter celebrating the diversity and science of animals, plants and Earth’s other weird and wonderful inhabitants

More on these topics:



Source link

Tags: animalsbiology
Previous Post

NASA predicts rising seas could swamp the US coasts by 2050

Next Post

50 years ago, a ‘cure’ for intoxication showed promise

Next Post

50 years ago, a ‘cure’ for intoxication showed promise

Recommended

Why Do Some People Live So Long?

January 17, 2023

JWST has broken the record for most distant galaxy ever confirmed

December 10, 2022

Don't miss it

Science News

50 years ago, scientists debated when humans first set foot in North America

February 6, 2023
Science News

Thornborough Henges: Neolithic complex dubbed ‘Stonehenge of the North’ opens to UK public

February 6, 2023
Science News

Bright blue stars crawl among Tarantula Nebula clouds in Hubble telescope photo

February 6, 2023
Technology

A Secret Weapon in Preventing the Next Pandemic: Fruit Bats

February 6, 2023
Technology

Will COVID-19 Need an Annual Vaccine Like the Flu?

February 5, 2023
Technology

Unbalanced Allele Expression Associated with Mutation, Disease

February 5, 2023

© 2022 Science News Hubb All rights reserved.

Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement unless specified. By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us

Newsletter Sign Up

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us

© 2022 Science News Hubb All rights reserved.