Turtles belong to a group of chordates that are easily distinguished within this phylum by their particular shell that covers the body, of which only the limbs and head can be seen if they are not hidden.
Turtles are found in many different types of habitats, so they can be aquatic, semi-aquatic, or terrestrial. Tortoises have generally been considered mute. However, this is not entirely true, since they are animals that do emit certain types of sounds, which in many cases is to communicate. In this article on our site, we want you to know how turtles communicate Keep reading and find out about this form of interaction between these animals!
Do turtles vocalize?
Turtles belong to the order Testudines, which is divided into two suborders that group together all current species, Pleurodira and Cryptodira. The difference between these two groups lies in the way these animals are able to retract their heads. In the former, the vertebrae are characterized by lateral bending, which allows them to move the head sideways. In the latter, the vertebrae, on the contrary, have vertical flexion, which allows them to retract the head into the shell.
These animals can be aquatic or terrestrial, but in general different species maintain intermediate habits. For example, species of sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand outside of the water and freshwater turtles also come out onto land. Also, they all need to breathe air so they need to go to the surface to do so.
Now, for a long time, turtles, especially aquatic ones, had been considered silent reptiles. However, although studies are lacking in various taxa, some research [1] has confirmed that both aquatic and terrestrial turtles, they communicate through various types of vocalizations The communication system between turtles is complex, and not only do they use various types of sounds, but even the hatchlings and their mothers initiate this process before hatching. hatching from the egg.
How do terrapins communicate?
Water turtles communicate by emission of various types of sounds, which have different frequencies. This communication process starts even before the hatching of the egg occurs. Let us remember that turtles, although they are aquatic, spawn on the earth's surface and choose the place they consider most appropriate for spawning. In this way, although the mother is not in the place when the young begin to emerge, it has been proven that there are females that group together in the water and communicate with their young through vocalizations, and then guide them to meet them in the water. aquatic environment and start a journey together where newborns will learn to survive with their parents.
But the communication of these animals goes much further, both the laying of the eggs and their massive hatching is no coincidence. The females communicate to spawn in groups, later, the chicks also vocalize still inside the egg to then synchronize and leave it almost at the same time. Since many turtles just hatched from the egg are predated, by doing it massively, the number of deaths decreases, so it is undoubtedly a biological strategy for the survival of the species.
Aquatic turtles kept in captivity do not vocalize, there are no records in these cases, which probably led us to think that this did not occur in the order of the Testudines.
How do tortoises communicate?
In the case of turtles with terrestrial habits, they also emit various types of sounds or vocalizations in order to communicate. Although turtles lack vocal cords, which led them to be considered mute animals, in the various terrestrial species it is common to hear that emit sounds mainly during courtship and copulation.
These noises may be caused by the speed with which air passes through the esophagus. In some cases it is estimated that they do not represent a real communication between the couple. But for other researchers, studies are lacking in order to be able to define them conclusively.
What kinds of sounds do turtles make?
Turtles can emit various types of sounds and at various frequencies, aspects that are often linked to the species. For example, the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), which is a marine species, can produce three different types of sounds when it enters the terrestrial environment. In the case of land, it is known to be a sound that is heard as a low whistle or guttural.
For its part, the loggerhead sea turtle (Platysternon megacephalum) produces sounds similar to screeching and in the case of adults of Chelodina oblonga, 17 types of sounds have been identified, ranging from harmonic vocalizations to other types of frequencies.
Another example is in Podocnemis expansa, a species that has a complex communication system based on 11 different types of sounds, which occur from the time it is in the egg until the final stages of adult life.
In addition, we can mention two other identified aspects. In general, the youngest turtles emit sounds with higher frequencies than the adult individuals. Also, in river species, the same thing happens as in marine ones. When the young hatch from the egg, they look for their mothers from the sound that you are emitting.
Recent research on how turtles communicate has made it possible to identify that the noise caused by the various vessels that transit the seas undoubtedly affects the communication system of these species, which has serious consequences for these, for example, the interference between the sound contact that occurs between calves and mothers to locate themselves after birth.
