Reptile vocalizations are a unique form of communication. From defining territory to attracting mates, these sounds communicate complex messages.
While most lizards are silent, some hiss, chirp and squeak. Hissing is often associated with aggression and defense, while chirping is used for mating and territorial display.
Did you know that crocodiles roar to find a mate? Males use these calls to advertise themselves to females.
Lizards
Lizards are popular pets because they are clean and easy to care for. Their abundance and observability has also made them valuable research subjects for reptile ecologists and behavioral ethologists. The ability of certain species to regrow their tails after being nabbed by predators has also been a su 게코도마뱀 bject of study.
While a few lizards can talk, the majority of species remain silent. However, when they do make noises it is usually to attract a mate, warn rivals or scare off predators. For example, geckos are able to emit chirps and clicks that can be heard up to 30 feet away. They can also hiss when threatened or during mating rituals.
These sounds are produced by rubbing the lizard’s throat scales and vibrating them. While hissing and chirping may be the most common reptile vocalizations, other sounds like clicking and barking are also possible.
Snakes
Snakes have no limbs, a larynx (voice box) or external ears and only one lung. They rely on a combination of senses to communicate, including the use of odors, body language and movement. They can also hiss, a sound that is often associated with aggression.
Hissing is a form of communication and a way for snakes to mark their territory. It is commonly u 게코도마뱀 sed in captivity by pet snakes and by many wild species. It is most likely that snakes use hisses to warn of approaching predators and to frighten their prey.
While it is believed that snakes cannot hear, new research has shown that they can detect vibrations in the ground and air. They have an internal sensory organ called a columella, which functions as an alternative to the tympanic membranes in mammals and amphibians.
In addition, a study on the geckos Pituophis catenifer showed that these reptiles can adjust their call notes to ambient noise levels, as is known for the complex vocalization systems of birds and mammals. The authors conclude that this discovery reveals a more advanced communication system in non-avian reptiles than was previously suspected.
Turtles
When most people hear a turtle make noise, they probably expect a hiss or a chirp. But researchers have uncovered that these shell-inhabiting reptiles actually chatter. Using special hydrophones, biologists have recorded turtles hoot, cluck, hiss, and grunt.
The sound a turtle makes depends on its mood or the situation. A hiss is a cry for help or a warning to an enemy. Heavy breathing combined with hissing indicates that the turtle is defending its territory. Turtles also hiss when they are stressed or scared. Hisses are sometimes followed by a low-frequency cry. Hissing can also occur during mating or when a turtle is in labor.
Until recently, scientists thought that turtles were deaf and mute because they don’t have vocal cords or external ears. But a 2020 study that mapped the evolutionary phylogeny of 1,800 vocal and non-vocal species found that many cold-blooded reptiles—including turtles—that were previously considered mute actually do vocalize, Scientific American reports.
Crocodiles
When it comes to reptiles, crocodiles are the ones that get the most attention. They are the largest living reptiles and can be found all over the world. They’re also the top predators and will go after humans if they feel threatened or are at risk of their food supply. This is why the term crocodile tears was coined – to describe someone who is showing fake sympathy or empathy for their victims.
Male crocodiles and alligators use their roars to claim territory, fend off other males or warn females to stay away from them. They are one of the only reptiles that can roar and they do so by producing vibrations from the folds in their larynx.
While most people think that only mammals can make noise, many reptiles do make sounds too. Lizards, snakes and turtles all make different clicks, grunts, hisses and barks to communicate with each other. While these sound like scary animals, crocodile moms really do care about their babies. They’ll even help them hatch by biting a short tooth on the end of their snout to make the egg crack open more easily.
Memes
A meme is an idea that spreads from person to person by imitation. It can be as simple as a captioned photograph that catches on in the Internet or as complex as an entire culture. The word derives from the Greek mimema, which means “imitation.” The British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined it in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene.
Memes spread in many ways, but the most important are those that evoke a response from those who see or hear them. Ideas that are logically or socially coherent spread more easily than those that are silly or offensive. Ideas that are seen as having the potential to increase one’s own power or self-interest are also more likely to be spread.
Some memes have obvious benefits for their hosts (the belief in CPR, the knowledge that one should wash hands before cooking). But memetic success is not the same as genetic success. Many memes, such as patent medicines, astrology and satanism, spread with impressive virulence while leaving vast swaths of collateral damage. Some even evolve, mutating and spreading faster than their host organisms can keep up with them.