title: Audiogram of the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger).
abstract: The behavioral audiograms of 2 fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) were determined with a conditioned avoidance procedure. The squirrels were able to hear tones ranging from 113 Hz to 49 kHz at a level of 60 dB sound-pressure level or less, with their best sensitivity of 1 dB occurring at 8 kHz. Their ability to hear frequencies below 150 Hz indicates that they have good low-frequency hearing, as do the 2 other members of the squirrel family (black-tailed and white-tailed prairie dogs) for which audiograms are available. This suggests that the ancestral sciurid may also have had good low-frequency hearing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Ohio 43606, USA.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Heffner
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Heffner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012589:Sciuridae; D013017:Sound Localization