Pre-Hatched Baby Crocodiles Communicate
Researchers have shown that the pre-hatching calls of baby Nile crocodiles actually mean something to their mothers - and even to their siblings. To us, they sound like "umph! umph! umph!" but to the others in the nest it's a signal that it's time to hatch, according to the report in Current Biology. When the mother hears those cries, she also knows it's time to start digging up the nest. The new findings, made from a series of "playback" experiments, confirm what had only been suspected on the basis of prior anecdotal observation, according to the researchers Amélie Vergne and Nicolas Mathevon of Université Jean Monnet in France. The researchers said that the calling behavior is probably critical to the early survival of the young crocodiles. Read More...
Read the whole article on Scientific Blogging
More from Scientific Blogging
Related
- From the egg, baby crocodiles call to each other and to momMon, 23 Jun 2008, 12:49:22 EDT
- How young mice phone home: Study gives clue to how mothers' brains screen for baby callsWed, 10 Jun 2009, 13:25:02 EDT
- Surges of trust hormone between mother and infant are created by dendritesThu, 17 Jul 2008, 21:42:25 EDT
- Suckling infants trigger surges of trust hormone in mothers' brainsThu, 17 Jul 2008, 21:42:27 EDT
- Mapping the crocodile genomeTue, 28 Jul 2009, 20:56:29 EDT