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Auditory communication in the cane rat ( Thryonomys swinderianus )
Author(s) -
Cox J. M.,
MARINIER S. L.,
ALEXANDER A. J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1988.tb02421.x
Subject(s) - biology , boom , crista , audiology , cane , engineering , medicine , environmental engineering , mitochondrion , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , sugar
The auditory communication of the Old World hystricomorph rodent, the cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck), was studied in two captive groups of animals. Sounds fell into five categories of vocalizations, named the quirr, squeak, wheet, growl and boom, and two percussive sounds, the hind‐foot stamp and the tooth‐chatter. The quirr, squeak and wheet vocalizations were the most variable in structure and were graded both within and between categories. The growl and boom were more uniform and discrete in structure. The sound repertoire of the cane rat ranged in frequency from the boom with low frequencies of 40–100 Hz and high frequencies of 250–1500 Hz to the wheet with low frequencies of 200–3750 Hz to high frequencies of 600–9000 Hz. Quirrs were the most common calls and occurred in a variety of situations linked to bringing about group cohesion. The squeak was most often given by female adults or young animals and appeared to indicate fear and submission on the part of the sender, functioning to decrease the chance of attack. Young cane rats from a few days to a few weeks old used the wheet as a longdistance contact‐seeking call. The growl was given most often by dominant adults as an indication of aggression and threat. Booms often occurred together with hind‐foot stamping as an alarm signal. Tooth‐chatter was most often a consequence of feeding and, though communication is not thought to be its primary function, it may help to synchronize eating activities in a group of animals. Occasionally, tooth‐chattering was given by young cane rats after bouts of play and by the male after bouts of courtship but the function of this sound is unknown. Three aspects of cane rat sound communication imply a gregarious social structure: the large sound repertoire, the high degree of variability in the sounds and the occurrence of a warning call. Cane rats are mainly nocturnal and live in dense habitats. These conditions of poor visibility account for the use of a close‐contact call with physical characteristics that make it easy to locate the caller, but only at close range, and a warning call that is well adapted to carry for long distances through thick grass and reed habitats.