While everyone knows that chimpanzees and other non-human primates are capable of understanding language, a recent article in Science shows that fish can talk too! At least one species (midshipman) and a close relative (toadfish) can grunt, growl and hum to communicate with one another, with different sounds to show aggression or lure a mate. If you don’t believe me, you can have a listen to the growl , grunt , and hum.
According to US researchers, this shows fish are more similar to us than many folks would suspect. “[T]he sophisticated neural circuitry that midshipman [fish] use to vocalize develops in a similar region of the central nervous system as the circuitry that allows a human to laugh or a frog to croak …”, according to the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Massachusetts, where research was conducted.
One MBL researcher – the aptly named Dr Bass – believes vocal communication is probably widespread amongst our finned friends. It may even give insight as to how fish have evolved.
Take note that this isn’t an isolated bit of research – a great deal of time has been dedicated to investigating methods of animal communication. Each new study verifies more and more what many of us have suspected for years: humans and other animals aren’t all that different.
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