Journal
BIOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 8, Issue 4, Pages 508-511Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.1149
Keywords
ultrasound; sensory ecology; bioacoustics; auditory brainstem response; evoked potential audiogram
Categories
Funding
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation (NJD)
- Fulbright Foundation
- Primate Conservation Inc.
- Conservation International and Texas AM University
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Few mammals-cetaceans, domestic cats and select bats and rodents-can send and receive vocal signals contained within the ultrasonic domain, or pure ultrasound (greater than 20 kHz). Here, we use the auditory brainstem response (ABR) method to demonstrate that a species of nocturnal primate, the Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), has a high-frequency limit of auditory sensitivity of ca 91 kHz. We also recorded a vocalization with a dominant frequency of 70 kHz. Such values are among the highest recorded for any terrestrial mammal, and a relatively extreme example of ultrasonic communication. For Philippine tarsiers, ultrasonic vocalizations might represent a private channel of communication that subverts detection by predators, prey and competitors, enhances energetic efficiency, or improves detection against low-frequency background noise.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available