Do You Know What Scientists Found in Grasshopper Mice?

Have you ever wondered how do the rodents communicate with each other? Well! Few scientists were intrigued by this question and as a result, a new discovery took place at Northern Arizona University, Midwestern University at Glendale and Ritsumeikan University in Japan. Through the study, the scientists discovered that Grasshopper mice speak similarly to humans. The scientists did a laryngeal and vocal tract morphological investigations and biomechanical modeling to investigate how grasshopper mice produce spectacular long-distance calls.

The study is one of its kinds because the findings provide the first evidence of a mouse that produces sound like humans which sets the stage for studies on vocal injuries and ageing.

Additionally, the study gives an authentic evidence for a larger comparative analysis of vocalizations in rodents. These evidences include more than 40 percent of mammalian variety but whose voices remain undiscovered.

Grasshopper mice are known as are predatory rodents that inhabit deserts. The mice are usually found in Grasslands and prairies of the western United States and northern Mexico. Unlike other mice, grasshopper mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations above the range of human hearing in close-distance social communications through whistle-like mechanisms.

Like most mice, grasshopper mice also produce long-distance audible vocalizations, or advertisement vocalizations. So, next time you hear such voices understand that rodents are communicating with each other.

By: Priyanka Negi

Content: www.sciencedaily.com