Researchers Discover That California Mantis Shrimp Make Rumbling Noises
Posted on September 8, 2011
Researchers have determined that the California mantis shrimp (Hemisquilla californiensis) make a rumbling noise. A recent study determined that males make rhythmic rumble noises in groups of three that may help to attract females to their burrows or defend their territories against neighboring males. You can hear a field recording of the "rumble" here.
Six scientists, including two students from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, Erica Staaterman and Austin Gallagher, made the discovery. The researchers collected data using various instruments that included a coupled audio-video system, a hydrophone array and an autonomous recording unit. Erica Staaterman made the above drawing of a California mantis shrimp "rumbling."
Staaterman says, "Rarely are there studies of benthic acoustics (sounds from the oceans floor). There has always been suspicion that burrow-dwelling creatures like the mantis shrimp make some sort of noise, and our research is going to help us better understand life and communication on the ocean floor. These sounds recorded in the field were different than what we recorded in tanks, so to hear these creatures communicating in the wild was very special. Our research team noted the 'rumbles' were so synchronized that it sounded like a chorus, similar to that of groups of birds or frogs."
Aquatic Biology made the study of California mantis shrimp rumblings their August cover story.
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