Short, loud clicks made by a stingray while swimming on an offshore reef. IndonesiaThe Gill Islands are the first example of a sound-producing creature.
A team of Swedish and Australian researchers observed in a video that a mangrove whip “speaks” as it moves the respiratory openings near its eyes, known as spiracles.
Noise production by stingrays and even sharks is unheard of, but watching the beam move away from the camera suggests the clicking could be a danger sign or a defense mechanism.
The team isn’t entirely sure how the stingray makes the sound, however, but they suggest it may be by simultaneously contracting spiracles and opening their gills.
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The noise production of stingrays and even sharks is unheard of, but a video shows the sounds are overlooked as the creatures make a loud clicking noise. Pictured is a snapshot of the beam captured in the video.
“Whether sound production is achieved by rapid evacuation of water or by some other internal mechanism is plausible, but has yet to be seen, and further research is needed on the internal morphology of these rays,” says the study, published in the journal Ecology.
The road to this historic discovery began in 2018 when marine scientist Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons, who led the study, took video of the mangrove.
Without much thought, they rescheduled for another time.
However, the team didn’t decide to do some research until they heard the same loud click from another mangrove in a clip shared on Instagram.
The team isn’t entirely sure how the stingray makes the sound, however, but they suggest it may be by simultaneously contracting spiracles and opening their gills.
Pini-Fitzsimmons and colleagues sifted through treasures of stingray data to find anything resembling sounds.
“As far as we know, it’s not something that has been recorded or broadcast before,” said Pini-Fitzsimmons. I’m not entirely sure why this would happen.
Pini-Fitzsimmons theorizes that people had heard the sound when snorkeling before, but the click was overlooked because the equipment made its own sound.
‘Other similar genres may sound as well, but anecdotal recordings may not have come to light yet; therefore, our paper may serve to bring to light more examples from the public and researchers’, says the study.
Stingrays are found all over the world and come in different sizes; one of them was caught in Cambodia, where it is believed to be the world’s largest freshwater fish.
In June, a fisherman hooked a gigantic stingray weighing 661 pounds and measuring 13 feet long, breaking the record for a catfish discovered in Thailand in 2005 at 646 pounds.
Stingrays are found all over the world and come in different sizes; one of them was caught in Cambodia, where it is believed to be the world’s largest freshwater fish. In June, a fisherman caught a gigantic stingray weighing 661 pounds and measuring 13 feet long.
Nicknamed ‘Boramy’ or ‘full moon’ in Khmer, the stingray got caught in the Mekong River, which is famous for being home to a variety of large fish species.
A team of scientists from the Mekong Wonders research project helped label, measure and weigh the beam before it was released back into the river.
Mekong leader Zeb Hogan’s Wonders told AFP: “Big fish are endangered worldwide. They are a very valuable species. They take a long time to mature. So if they are caught before they mature, they have no chance to reproduce.
“Most of these big fish are migratory, so they need large areas to survive. They are affected by things like habitat fragmentation from dams, they are clearly affected by overfishing.
‘So around 70 percent of giant freshwater fish and all Mekong species worldwide are in danger of extinction.’
