Growling from the gut: co-option of the gastric mill for acoustic communication in ghost crabs.

ABSTRACT: Animal acoustic communication systems can be built upon co-opted structures that become specialized for sound production or morphological novelties. The ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, evolved a novel stridulation apparatus on the claws that is used during agonistic interactions, but they also produce a rasping sound without their claw apparatus. We investigated the nature of these sounds and show that O. quadrata adopted a unique and redundant mode of sound production by co-opting the gastric mill (grinding teeth of the foregut). Acoustic characteristics of the sound are consistent with stridulation and are produced by both male and female crabs during aggressive interactions. Laser Doppler vibrometry localized the source of maximum vibration to the gastric region and fluorosc

SUBMITTER: Taylor JRA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6742986 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature