Research Highlights
Nature 459, 12 (7 May 2009) | doi:10.1038/459012a; Published online 6 May 2009
Biology: Now hear this, or not
PLoS One doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005413 (2009)
Although many mammals can hear very high frequencies, other vertebrates are
less au fait with ultrasound.
Victoria Arch, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues
now report that a frog from Borneo, Huia cavitympanum, is the first
non-mammalian vertebrate discovered to communicate with calls purely in the
range above 20 kilohertz, which is about the upper limit of human hearing. This
species had been known to produce these ultrasonic calls, and when playing them
back in the field, the team found that male frogs nearby increased the
frequency of their calls in response.
On examining the frog's brain and ears, the researchers showed that its hearing
was most sensitive above 20 kilohertz.
Enjoy!
Xiao
XIAO, Jianqiang, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Psychology Department
Rutgers University
152 Frelinghuysen Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854
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