Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i>
Lizards, except geckos, are generally considered voiceless organisms, although some species emit oral sounds. For most of these “vocal lizards”, however, there is almost no information on the characteristics of the sounds, precluding exploration of the functionality and evolution of the sounds. <...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3813 |
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| author | Sebastián Díaz Antonieta Labra |
| author_facet | Sebastián Díaz Antonieta Labra |
| author_sort | Sebastián Díaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lizards, except geckos, are generally considered voiceless organisms, although some species emit oral sounds. For most of these “vocal lizards”, however, there is almost no information on the characteristics of the sounds, precluding exploration of the functionality and evolution of the sounds. <i>Pristidactylus</i> are known as “grunter lizards” since individuals emit oral sounds under predation risk. We explored the characteristics of the sounds emitted by <i>P. valeriae</i>, recording 17 adults and 1 juvenile when they were threatened and captured by a predator. Only adults emitted sounds with open mouths and displayed aggressive postures, e.g., biting attempts. These sounds correspond to hisses, which lack amplitude or frequency modulation. The lizards emitted longer hisses when threatened than when captured by the predator, which may provide honest information on individuals’ ability to escape. In addition, males may experience higher distress during threats since their hisses had higher aggregate entropy than those of the females. Finally, hissing has been documented in four of the five Leiosauridae genera, the family to which <i>Pristidactylus</i> belongs, suggesting that sound emission is ancestral to the family. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:04:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f721f8de594148698f05805440b6b2ae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:04:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f721f8de594148698f05805440b6b2ae2023-12-22T13:47:28ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-12-011324381310.3390/ani13243813Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i>Sebastián Díaz0Antonieta Labra1Laboratorio de Ecología Geográfica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 7800003, ChileCenter for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, NorwayLizards, except geckos, are generally considered voiceless organisms, although some species emit oral sounds. For most of these “vocal lizards”, however, there is almost no information on the characteristics of the sounds, precluding exploration of the functionality and evolution of the sounds. <i>Pristidactylus</i> are known as “grunter lizards” since individuals emit oral sounds under predation risk. We explored the characteristics of the sounds emitted by <i>P. valeriae</i>, recording 17 adults and 1 juvenile when they were threatened and captured by a predator. Only adults emitted sounds with open mouths and displayed aggressive postures, e.g., biting attempts. These sounds correspond to hisses, which lack amplitude or frequency modulation. The lizards emitted longer hisses when threatened than when captured by the predator, which may provide honest information on individuals’ ability to escape. In addition, males may experience higher distress during threats since their hisses had higher aggregate entropy than those of the females. Finally, hissing has been documented in four of the five Leiosauridae genera, the family to which <i>Pristidactylus</i> belongs, suggesting that sound emission is ancestral to the family.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3813distress callhissinggrunterspectro-temporal variablesChile |
| spellingShingle | Sebastián Díaz Antonieta Labra Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i> Animals distress call hissing grunter spectro-temporal variables Chile |
| title | Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i> |
| title_full | Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i> |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i> |
| title_short | Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard <i>Pristidactylus valeriae</i> |
| title_sort | exploring sound emission of the lizard i pristidactylus valeriae i |
| topic | distress call hissing grunter spectro-temporal variables Chile |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3813 |
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