Dinosaurs are often depicted in movies as roaring ferociously, but it is likely that some dinosaurs mumbled or cooed with closed mouths, according to a study by Moore Foundation grantees published online in the journal Evolution.
The research examines the evolution of a specialized way birds emit sound—closed-mouth vocalization. The study emerges from a new collaboration to understand the origin and evolution of the unique vocal organ of birds and the large array of sounds it can produce. Because birds descended from dinosaurs, the research may also shed light on how dinosaurs made sound.
Closed-mouth vocalizations are sounds that are emitted through the skin in the neck area while the beak is kept closed. To make them, birds typically push air that drives sound production into an esophageal pouch rather than exhale through the open beak. The coos of doves are an example of this behavior. Compared with sounds emitted through an open beak, closed-mouth vocalizations are often much quieter and lower in pitch. Birds making closed-mouth vocalizations usually do so only to attract mates or defend their territory. At other times, they emit sounds through an open mouth.
"Looking at the distribution of closed-mouth vocalization in birds that are alive today could tell us how dinosaurs vocalized," said Chad Eliason, a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences and the study's co-author. "Our results show that closed-mouth vocalization has evolved at least 16 times in archosaurs, a group that includes birds, dinosaurs and crocodiles."
Read the full article here, along with news coverage of the study in TIME and the Washington Post.
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