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Reptile Auditory Neuroethology: What Do Reptiles Do with Their Hearing?

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Insights from Comparative Hearing Research

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 49))

Abstract

Reptiles from all major phylogenetic radiations—turtles, lizards, snakes, and crocodilians—respond, both physiologically and behaviorally, to auditory stimuli. There is considerable variation in the auditory frequency response range among different reptilian groups, though the underlying biophysical and neurological bases for these differences are poorly known. In some reptiles the auditory neural processing appears to have reasonably discrete low- and high-frequency components. In these reptiles, which include some lizards and crocodilians, vocal communication has evolved multiple times; associated with this vocal communication is a diversity of intraspecific behaviors including territoriality, parental care, and courtship. In other reptiles, most notably, but not exclusively, the snakes, the response to high-frequency stimuli has been lost. Vocal communication is rare in these taxa and plays little to no part in intraspecific behaviors. The commonality of low-frequency auditory responses across reptiles is associated with a common, and very generalized, avoidance response.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Catherine Carr, Samuel Martin, Peter Taylor, and Amélie Vergne for their support and assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, MO, 63501, USA

    Bruce A. Young

  2. Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CNPS, CNRS UMR8195, University of Lyon/Saint-Etienne, Cedex 07, 69365, Lyon, France

    Nicolas Mathevon

  3. Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9, Section 4, Renmin Nan Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, P.R. China

    Yezhong Tang

Authors
  1. Bruce A. Young
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  2. Nicolas Mathevon
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  3. Yezhong Tang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruce A. Young .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine and Health Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Christine Köppl

  2. School of Medicine and Health Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Geoffrey A. Manley

  3. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

  4. Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard R. Fay

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Young, B.A., Mathevon, N., Tang, Y. (2013). Reptile Auditory Neuroethology: What Do Reptiles Do with Their Hearing?. In: Köppl, C., Manley, G., Popper, A., Fay, R. (eds) Insights from Comparative Hearing Research. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 49. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/2506_2013_30

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