Abstract
Social interactions are inevitable in the lives of most animals, since most essential behaviours require interaction with conspecifics, such as mating and competing for resources. Non-avian reptiles are typically viewed as solitary animals that predominantly use their vision and olfaction to communicate with conspecifics. Nevertheless, in recent years, evidence is mounting that some reptiles can produce sounds and have the potential for acoustic communication. Reptiles that can produce sound have an additional communicative channel (in addition to visual/olfactory channels), which could suggest they have a higher communicative complexity, the evolution of which is assumed to be driven by the need of social interactions. Thus, acoustic reptiles may provide an opportunity to unveil the true social complexity of reptiles that are usually thought of as solitary. This review aims to reveal the hidden social interactions behind the use of sounds in non-avian reptiles. Our review suggests that the potential of vocal and acoustic communication and the complexity of social interactions may be underestimated in non-avian reptiles, and that acoustic reptiles may provide a great opportunity to uncover the coevolution between sociality and communication in non-avian reptiles. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 20230200 |
Journal | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Volume | 379 |
Issue number | 1905 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2024 May 20 |
Keywords
- crocodiles
- lizards
- signalling
- social interactions
- the social complexity hypothesis for communicative complexity
- turtles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences