Tiny Fish Makes Sounds Exceeding 140 Decibels

Posted on February 29, 2024

Researchers have found the tiny fish named Danionella cerebrum can make sounds up to 140 decibels. The fish, which are just 12 mm in length, are found in Myanmar.

A research paper on the small loud fish was published in PNAS. The scientists say that the fish makes the sound using a unique sound production apparatus that includes a drumming cartilage.

We found that it possesses a unique sound production apparatus – involving a drumming cartilage, specialized rib, and fatigue-resistant muscle – which allows the fish to accelerate the drumming cartilage at extreme forces and generate rapid, loud pulses. Our finding challenges the conventional notion that the speed of vertebrate skeletal movement is limited by muscle action.

You can hear the sounds the fish makes in this video. They sound fairly quiet in the video but still loud for such a small creature. This is partly because the sound is reflected back into the water according to BBC News.

ANIMALS
FISH