Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

Oldest Known Avian Vocal Organ Discovered


Claire.

Recommended Posts

Oldest Known Avian 'Squawk Box' Helped Ancient Bird Quack

More than 66 million years ago, a duck-size waterbird flew around the woods of ancient Antarctica, honking and calling to its mate with what is now the oldest discovered avian vocal organ on record, a new study finds. The findings also suggest that dinosaurs, for which no vocal organ has been found, likely didn't sing and tweet like birds do. The vocal organ, known as a syrinx, is tiny: about the width of a pencil and less than 0.3 inches (1 centimeter) tall. But it's an enormous finding for experts piecing together the evolutionary history of birds.

Read more: Live Science

 

Edited by Clair
Fixed source url.
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Interesting article Clair, thanks for posting it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most people probably wouldn't think of honks or quacks as terrifying as the TV T Rexs.

Those little male ducks and geese are very territorial when it comes to protecting females property lines or owners. They will chase intruders down for long distances while biting to bring blood and making a schrill attack honk.

Imagining a shrill attack honk coming from a large T Rex with real sharp teeth is more frightening than growls!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gets into time machine travels back to the time of dinosaurs.

'Hey Walter, do you hear that loud quacking sound?'.. 'Ya I hear it. What do you think it could be?' 'OMG! IT's a Tyrannosaurus Rex quacking toward us!!!! RUN!!!!

FEAR THE QUACK!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wouldn't having sharp teeth and mouth designed to rip and chew meat alter those bird-like sounds?

Edited by Merc14
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This would make Godzilla of the 70's and 80's even funnier if he quacked instead or roared.  But I agree if I heard stomps and load quacking I'd run for cover.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Logic would dictate that most extinct dinosaurs made similar sounds to those of living dinosaurs today, such as crocodiles.

Much more likely than honks and quacks, imo.

***So, after browsing through the peer-reviewed journal, the author of the study states quite plainly that the bird in question is not a dinosaur, it is a waterfowl related closely to the duck.  So sorry to disappoint.

So, that makes this armchair journalist type article rubbish and therefore nothing but clickbait.

Edited by Jungleboogie
After reading the peer reviewed journal
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's obvious that a T-rex would be singing T-Rex songs.  I'm sure others were singing Dinosaur Jr. and possibly even doing "the dinosaur".  I suppose Godzilla would make sounds that sound very similar to Blue Oyster Cult.

Just an educated guess

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Jungleboogie said:

Logic would dictate that most extinct dinosaurs made similar sounds to those of living dinosaurs today, such as crocodiles.

Much more likely than honks and quacks, imo.

***So, after browsing through the peer-reviewed journal, the author of the study states quite plainly that the bird in question is not a dinosaur, it is a waterfowl related closely to the duck.  So sorry to disappoint.

So, that makes this armchair journalist type article rubbish and therefore nothing but clickbait.

Why would logic dictate that? I think there may be a misunderstanding here somewhere.

Firstly, you've said crocodiles are living dinosaurs. This is clearly inaccurate. While it's true they are the closest living relatives to birds, that's the result of extinction among the other members of their group the Archosauria. A clade which is defined, in this case, as being the last common ancestor of birds and crocodilians, and all that ancestors descendants. But, in this case birds and crocodilians, (both of which are very derived, and to a large extent atypical of the majority of their extinct relatives) are either side of a major sub division of that group. With the crocs, and their many and varied extinct relatives, being on the Pseudosuchian branch. And the dinosaurs (including birds), along with the pterosaurs  being on the Ornithosuchian.

So, while crocodilians are archosaurs but definitely not dinosaurs, which are a specific but varied group basically comprising the Saurischians, lizard hipped, and the Ornithischians, bird hipped, dinosaurs. Birds, definitely are. They're theropods, from within the Saurischian group. So, when the authors state 'it's a waterfowl related closely to the duck', they aren't stating that it's not a dinosaur, they're stating it's not a non-avian dinosaur. 

Did you read the entire paper? I must admit that I haven't got access to it beyond the abstract, but even there it states;  "The new data show the fossilization potential of the avian vocal organ and beg the question why these remains have not been found in other dinosaurs"

 

 

Edited by oldrover
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dinosaur in the cover picture on this page has no feathers. That's probably wrong too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Brachiosaurus use to click to communicate, like the modern dolphins 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Interesting parallels made to birds. If so, can we surmise that, like birds, the act of making sounds was also used to communicate a fairly rich dictionary of emotions and needs. Birds certainly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.