Publication
Title
New insights into the role of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus in the sound-producing mechanism of **Haemulon flavolineatum** (Haemulidae)
Author
Abstract
Grunts are fish that are well known to vocalize, but how they produce their grunting sounds has not been clearly identified. In addition to characterizing acoustic signals and hearing in the French grunt Haemulon flavolineatum, the present study investigates the sound-production mechanism of this species by means of high-speed X-ray videos and scanning electron microscopy of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus. Vocalizations consist of a series of stridulatory sounds: grunts lasting ~47 ms with a mean period of 155 ms and a dominant frequency of ~700 Hz. Auditory capacity was determined to range from 100 to 600 Hz, with greatest sensitivity at 300 Hz (105.0±11.8 dB re. 1 μPa). This suggests that hearing is not tuned exclusively to detect the sounds of conspecifics. High-speed X-ray videos revealed how pharyngeal jaws move during sound production. Traces of erosion on teeth in the fourth ceratobranchial arch suggest that they are also involved in sound production. The similarity of motor patterns of the upper and lower pharyngeal jaws between food processing and sound production indicates that calling is an exaptation of the food-processing mechanism.
Language
English
Source (journal)
The journal of experimental biology. - London, 1930, currens
Publication
London : 2014
ISSN
0022-0949 [print]
1477-9145 [online]
DOI
10.1242/JEB.109025
Volume/pages
217 :21 (2014) , p. 3862-3869
ISI
000344866300020
Pubmed ID
25355850
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 03.11.2014
Last edited 09.10.2023
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