A lowland streaked tenrec can make sound by moving specialized quills against one another. Its yellow-and-black coat hides an unusual communication instrument.
The animal is a small Madagascan mammal, but its sound-producing equipment recalls a technique more often associated with insects.
A striped member of the tenrec family
The lowland streaked tenrec is Hemicentetes semispinosus. It lives in Madagascar, where tenrecs have evolved a wide variety of body shapes and ways of life.
It is not a tiny porcupine or a kind of hedgehog. Similar-looking spines evolved in different mammal groups.
The Smithsonian's study of tenrec behavior documents the animals and their varied activities.
A small sounding apparatus
Near the rear of the back, a group of modified quills forms a specialized structure. Muscles move the quills so they vibrate against one another.
A study of the vibrating mechanism describes its anatomy and role in sound production.
The process is called stridulation. The sound is not made by rattling a hollow tail or by blowing air through the spines.
Sound in a hidden world
A small animal moving through dense ground cover may lose visual contact with others. Researchers have investigated quill sounds as part of tenrec communication.
It is sensible to distinguish that broad interpretation from a claim that every sound has one completely decoded message. Animal signals can depend on context.
The animal also uses its snout to search for food, including earthworms and other small invertebrates.
Listen beyond the obvious
Madagascar's forests hold relationships that are easy to miss when attention goes only to large animals. Ground vegetation, soil, moisture, and small prey are important parts of a tenrec's world.
The streaked tenrec reminds us that communication need not come from a voice. Sometimes a mammal carries a remarkable little sound system in its coat.
Photo credits
Featured image: Frank Vassen; Source; CC BY 2.0. Resized for web display.
Body image 1: Ainazelo; Source; CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for web display.
Body image 2: Thomas Fuhrmann; Source; CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for web display.
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