Ventricular folds, or false vocal folds, are located on top of the true vocal cords. For example, bats can make low frequency calls, using their so called ‘false vocal folds’ - like human death metal singers do,” said Coen Elemans, the lead study author and a professor of biology at the University of Southern Denmark, in a news release. “We identified for the first time what physical structures within the larynx oscillate to make their different vocalizations. These are “the first direct observations” of these vocal structures in Daubenton’s bats, the researchers said. This allowed the scientists to directly observe the vocal membranes and ventricular folds, also called “false vocal folds,” vibrating at different frequencies. The research team extracted the larynxes of five bats who had been euthanized and filmed the organs while applying air flow to mimic natural breathing. The scientists set out to understand exactly how Daubenton’s bats maximize their vocal range. Over 50 species previously thought to be mute make sounds, according to a new study Bats use extremely high-pitched sounds to echolocate, but employ low-pitched growls to communicate with each other.Ī new study has documented sounds made by 53 species previously thought to be mute - like the big-headed Amazon River turtle shown here. By comparison, most mammals, including humans, have a vocal range of three to four octaves. The flying critters also use sounds to communicate socially.Īnd bats that use echolocation have an impressive, seven-octave vocal range to match their sound needs, the researchers said. Vocal communication is essential for bats: They famously use sound to navigate their surroundings and locate their prey in a process known as echolocation. The study, published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology, focuses on the different structures of the larynx - also known as the voice box - that bats use to expand their vocal range. Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark investigated the noise-making techniques of Daubenton’s bat, a small species of the winged mammal found across Europe and Asia. Some bats use the same vocal structures as death metal singers to make their unique vocalizations, a new study has found. Death metal fans might just have a new animal mascot.
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