Crocodile egg sounds signal hatching time.
Crocodilians are known to vocalize within the egg shortly before hatching [1,2]. Although a possible function of these calls - inducing hatching in siblings and stimulating the adult female to open the nest - has already been suggested, it has never been experimentally tested [1-5]. Here, we present the first experimental evidence that pre-hatching calls of Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) juveniles are informative acoustic signals which indeed target both siblings and mother.
Vergne
Amélie L
AL
Mathevon
Nicolas
N
D000162:Acoustics; D000489:Alligators and Crocodiles / Q000502:physiology*; D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology*; D014828:Vocalization, Animal