Université de Liège, Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, AFFISH-RC, Institut de Chimie - B6C, Sart Tilman, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
PSL Research University: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR3278 CRIOBE, BP 1013, 98729, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 21;9(1):4962. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41198-x.
In fishes, sonic abilities for communication purpose usually involve a single mechanism. We describe here the sonic mechanism and sounds in two species of boxfish, the spotted trunkfish Ostracion meleagris and the yellow boxfish Ostracion cubicus. The sonic mechanism utilizes a T-shaped swimbladder with a swimbladder fenestra and two separate sonic muscle pairs. Extrinsic vertical muscles attach to the vertebral column and the swimbladder. Perpendicularly and below these muscles, longitudinal intrinsic muscles cover the swimbladder fenestra. Sounds are exceptional since they are made of two distinct types produced in a sequence. In both species, humming sounds consist of long series (up to 45 s) of hundreds of regular low-amplitude pulses. Hums are often interspersed with irregular click sounds with an amplitude that is ten times greater in O. meleagris and forty times greater in O. cubicus. There is no relationship between fish size and many acoustic characteristics because muscle contraction rate dictates the fundamental frequency. We suggest that hums and clicks are produced by either separate muscles or by a combination of the two. The mechanism complexity supports an investment of boxfish in this communication channel and underline sounds as having important functions in their way of life.
在鱼类中，用于通讯目的的声音能力通常涉及单一机制。我们在这里描述了两种箱鲀（斑点箱鲀和黄箱鲀）的声学机制和声音。声学机制利用 T 形鳔，带有鳔窗和两对独立的声肌对。外在的垂直肌肉附着在脊柱和鳔上。垂直于这些肌肉下方，纵向的内在肌肉覆盖鳔窗。声音是特殊的，因为它们由两种不同类型的声音以序列方式产生。在这两个物种中，嗡嗡声由数百个规则的低振幅脉冲组成的长序列组成（最长可达 45 秒）。嗡嗡声经常与不规则的咔嗒声交错出现，在斑点箱鲀中，咔嗒声的幅度是嗡嗡声的十倍，而在黄箱鲀中，咔嗒声的幅度是嗡嗡声的四十倍。鱼的大小与许多声学特征之间没有关系，因为肌肉收缩率决定了基频。我们认为，嗡嗡声和咔嗒声是由单独的肌肉或两者的组合产生的。这种机制的复杂性支持了箱鲀在这种通讯渠道上的投资，并强调了声音在其生活方式中的重要功能。
