Pocket-like Structures Produce Hissing Sounds

Biological Strategy

King cobra

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Send Sound Signals

Many living systems send auditory signals to communicate with others, including to attract, announce, or warn. These sounds must be audible to the intended recipient in a variety of conditions, such as in wind, water, and solids. As a result, each living system has specific sounds best adapted to its environment. For example, some birds live in loud habitats, like those alongside noisy streams or in windy areas. These birds use sound frequencies that can be heard by other birds over competing environmental noises.

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Reptiles

Class Reptilia (“creeping”): Lizards, crocodiles, turtles, snakes

Reptiles retain some of the key characteristics that first enabled vertebrates to live permanently on land. They have dry skin covered in scales made of keratin that help prevent water loss. (Amphibians still need to stick close to water to keep their skin moist.) Many reptiles reproduce by laying eggs that are watertight and have a yolk, so eggs can develop on land while staying moist and nourished. Reptiles are also ectotherms, meaning they don’t produce their own body heat. This means they burn through energy much more slowly than “warm blooded” creatures of the same size. It also means that they need to keep warm to keep active, which is why you might see them spending a seemingly inordinate amount of time simply basking in the sun.

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Pocket-like structures extending from the trachea of a king cobra help produce the snake's growl-like hisses by serving as low-frequency resonance chambers.

“In 1991, studies conducted by Dr. Bruce Young of Hollins College, Virginia, with king cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) suggest that although they have only vestigial ears, they are able to hear their characteristic, unusually deep, growl-like hisses. These are believed to be produced via pocket-like structures called diverticula extending from the trachea that seem to function as low-frequency resonance chambers. Clearly, there is still a lot to learn about the mechanisms and limits of snake vocalization, especially in view of the controversial claims that have been made for the abilities of certain species.” (Shuker 2001:155)

Last Updated August 18, 2016

References

Book

The Hidden Powers of Animals: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature

Marshall Editions Ltd. | 26/02/2021 | Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker

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