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Death metal fans may have a new animal mascot.
A new study reveals that some bats make their own vocalizations using the same vocal structures as death metal singers.
Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark investigated the sound-making techniques of the Doventon bat, a small species of bat. winged mammal Found in Europe and Asia. the study, Published Tuesday in PLOS Biologyfocuses on the different structures of the larynx (also known as the vocal tract) that bats use to extend their vocal range.
Voice communication is essential for bats. Bats use sound to navigate their surroundings and locate prey in a process known as echolocation. Flying creatures use sound to communicate socially.
Bats that use echolocation also have an impressive seven-octave vocal range for their sonic needs, researchers say. By comparison, most mammals, including humans, have a three to four octave vocal range. Bats use very high-pitched sounds to echo locate, but low-pitched grunts are used to communicate with each other.
Scientists set out to understand exactly how Doubenton bats maximize their vocal range.
The research team removed the larynx from five euthanized bats and photographed the organ under an airflow to mimic natural breathing. This allowed scientists to directly observe vocal folds and ventricular folds, also called “pseudo-vocal folds,” vibrating at different frequencies. These are the “first direct observations” of these vocal structures in Doventon bats, the researchers say.
“We are the first to identify which physical structures within the larynx vibrate to produce different vocalizations. You can — just like human death metal singers do.” in the news release.
The ventricular folds, or false vocal cords, lie above the true vocal cords. Historically, these folds were thought to have no role in normal human speech, hence the term “false”.
However, research has revealed that these folds are important for several unique forms of vocalization. Distinctive “growl” used by death metal singers Or throat songs of Mongolian and Siberian vocalists.
Researchers have found that folds are also likely to be the source of low-frequency grunts in bats. They did not directly observe the vocal folds vibrating or vibrating. However, the researchers wrote, “We speculate that in bats, ventricular folds play a role in low-frequency oscillations.”
Scientists still don’t know exactly what the bats are using their death metal grunts to communicate. “Some look aggressive, some express displeasure, others have a completely different function,” says study co-author Lasse, a biologist at the University of Southern Denmark. Jacobsen said in his news release.
Brock Fenton, emeritus professor of biology at Western University in London, Ontario, told CNN that the study is an intriguing first step toward understanding bat vocalizations. More than one species of bat is known. Therefore, studies focusing on only one species have limited applications. He was not involved in research.
“As far as the vocal cords go, this is interesting and new,” he said, but “bats have a huge variety of larynxes that are barely described[in the literature].” rice field.
Fenton specifically called for future research on bats that produce long sounds, as opposed to the high-pitched but short-duration calls of Doventon bats, which he believes is the necessary context for understanding the range of bat vocalizations. Stated.