Moscow Zoo houses a Chinese pygmy dormouse, known for its echolocation ability. These small creatures produce incredibly high-pitched noises, listen to the reverberations, and use them to perceive their environment.
In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Science, researchers from the Kunming Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found that all four species of the genus Typhlomys (soft-furred tree mice) echolocate. This discovery, which adds tree mice to the limited group of mammals known to possess this ability, suggests a greater biodiversity of adaptive traits than previously thought.
The study, led by senior author Peng Shi, involved four species of pygmy dormice collected from mountains throughout China. The researchers found a higher number of similarities in hearing-related genes than random chance would explain, particularly in the stylohyal bone, which is fused with the tympanic bone, a trait also found in echolocating bats.
The ability to echolocate, which involves emitting high-frequency sounds and interpreting the returning echoes to navigate their environment when vision is limited or absent, has likely evolved independently in five different mammalian lineages. While it is a rare ability among mammals, with only two well-studied groups - bats and cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) - this new finding hints at a broader range of animals that may possess this trait.
The study also found that pygmy dormice are able to drop down onto a narrow ramp in complete darkness and increase the frequency and number of ultrasonic calls in a cluttered space, suggesting their reliance on ultrasonic vocalizations for navigation and obstacle avoidance. Interestingly, earplugs prevented pygmy dormice from finding the narrow ramp, further supporting their use of ultrasonic vocalizations.
However, the study did not provide direct information on how Chinese pygmy mice navigate in complete darkness or specific evidence of their echolocation ability. While some small rodents, including certain species of pygmy mice, are known to use echolocation, detailed experimental evidence specifically for Chinese pygmy mice may require consulting dedicated zoological or bioacoustics research literature.
The discovery of echolocation in tree mice adds to the growing body of evidence that small mammals, such as certain species of pygmy mice, are capable of remarkable adaptations. As our understanding of these adaptations grows, so too does our appreciation for the incredible diversity of life on Earth.
Echolocation, a trait typically found in bats and cetaceans, has been discovered in an additional mammalian lineage: the soft-furred tree mice. This finding, revealed in a study by the Kunming Institute of Zoology, suggests a richer biodiversity of adaptive traits among mammals than we previously understood.
The study confirms that pygmy dormice, a species of tree mice, navigate their environment by emitting high-frequency sounds and interpreting returning echoes, akin to bats. Moreover, their reliance on ultrasonic vocalizations for navigation and obstacle avoidance in complete darkness is evident.
The newfound echolocation ability in tree mice, along with similarities in hearing-related genes, hints at a broader range of animals that may possess this trait, possibly including certain species of pygmy mice.
Further investigations are needed to obtain direct evidence of Chinese pygmy mice's echolocation ability and their navigational strategies in complete darkness. As our knowledge of these adaptations expands, so does our awe for the biodiversity and intricacies of nature's ecosystems, contributing to the domain of science, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and mental-health.
