Sound production mechanism in carapid fish: first example with a slow sonic muscle

[en] Fish sonic swimbladder muscles are the fastest muscles in vertebrates and have fibers with numerous biochemical and structural adaptations for speed. Carapid fishes produce sounds with a complex swimbladder mechanism, including skeletal components and extrinsic sonic muscle fibers with an exceptional helical myofibrillar structure. To study this system we stimulated the sonic muscles, described their insertion and action and generated sounds by slowly pulling the sonic muscles. We find the sonic muscles contract slowly, pulling the anterior bladder and thereby stretching a thin fenestra. Sound is generated when the tension trips a release system that causes the fenestra to snap back to its resting position. The sound frequency does not correspond to the calculated resonant frequency of the bladder, and we hypothesize that it is determined by the snapping fenestra interacting with an overlying bony swimbladder plate. To our knowledge this tension release mechanism is unique in animal sound generation.

Disciplines :

Zoology

Author, co-author :

Parmentier, Eric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Morphologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Lagardere, J. P.

Braquegnier, J. B.

Vandewalle, Pierre ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Morphologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Fine, M. L.

Language :

English

Title :

Sound production mechanism in carapid fish: first example with a slow sonic muscle

Publication date :

01 August 2006

Journal title :

Journal of Experimental Biology

ISSN :

0022-0949

eISSN :

1477-9145

Publisher :

Company Of Biologists Ltd, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Volume :

209

Issue :

Pages :

2952-2960

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Funders :

F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique

Available on ORBi :

since 17 May 2009

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