WIKIMEDIA, LUISOVALLES
Amazonian river turtles may have a richer social life than previously thought. Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Brazil’s National Institute of Amazonian Research documented six distinct vocalizations during the turtles’ nesting seasons between 2009 and 2011. They published their analyses in a June 2014 Herpetologica paper.
Giant South American river turtles (Podocnemis expansa) migrate in groups between flooded forests and nesting beaches. After the hatchlings emerge, mothers and their young migrate together back to the flooded forests. The researchers used microphones and underwater hydrophones to record the animals’ communications. A comparison of the turtle sounds’ peak frequencies revealed differences among vocalizations produced during migration, beach basking, and nighttime nesting. Although the precise meanings of the sounds are not yet clear, the vocalizations ...
