According to researchers, adult freshwater turtles communicate with each other and with their hatchlings using at least 6 different types of sounds.
Using microphones and hydrophones, scientists were able to record over 250 sounds made by river turtles Podocnemis expanded. They then analyzed them into six types that correlated with specific turtle behaviors.
“The exact meaning of these sounds is unclear... However, we believe that the turtles are exchanging information,” said Dr. Camila Ferrara, who took part in the study. “We believe that sounds help animals coordinate their actions during egg-laying season,” Ferrara added. The sounds produced by the turtles varied slightly depending on what the animals were doing at the moment.
For example, a turtle made a specific sound when adults swam across a river. When the rest of the turtles gathered on the shore where the clutches were made, she made a different sound. According to Dr. Ferrara, female turtles use sounds to guide newly hatched offspring into the water and back to the shore. Since many turtles live for decades, scientists suggest that in the course of life, young turtles learn to communicate using sounds from more experienced relatives.
And the South American keel turtle has more than 30 sound signals: young individuals squeak in a special way, adult males, when courting females, creak like an ungreased door; There are special sounds both for clarifying relationships and for friendly greetings.
Different species communicate differently. Some species communicate more often, some less frequently, some more loudly, and some more quietly. The vulture, matamata, pig-nosed and some Australian species of turtles turned out to be very talkative.
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