Can Turtles Hear?
Who doesn’t recognize a turtle? The very well known reptile with a bony shell which acts as a shield to protect them from predators.
Yet, few people are aware of the fact that turtles can hear. Yes! They can hear.
Turtles do not have ears that are visible and draws sounds in toward the outer ear like human ears do. But this doesn’t mean that they are deaf. Instead of outer ears, the small bones in their inner ear help determine sound and vibrations, which are then directed towards their brains.
Turtles come out of their sand nests, two months after the female turtles lay eggs. These little turtles then rush towards the ocean using their hearing senses. This proves that turtles are capable of listening since birth.
Yet, turtles can not perceive sound as human. They are only capable of hearing louder sounds than the softer ones. As turtle’s lack in their hearing senses, they rely on the other exceptional senses like vision and smell.
Turtles struggle in hearing sound on land. Because of their limited hearing potential on land, turtles make use of other alternatives such as changes in air pressure and vibrations to lookout for dangers.
Now that you know turtles are not good at receiving sound on land, but is it the case in water as well?
As compared to land turtles can hear well under water. This is because of their ear structure which is not suitable for hearing on land but is ‘pro-underwater’!
A turtle’s ear hole is covered with a thick layer of skin, known as cutaneous plate. The layer is formed by rings of scales, which are a smaller version of scales found on the head. Underneath this skin is a layer of fatty content called the subcutaneous layer.
Both the layers serve as a good conductor of sound. Besides, the internal ear’s ability to detect changes in water pressure caused by the marine movement also helps turtles to dodge the predators in water.
According to a research, sea turtles can hear sounds with frequencies between 200Hz to 750Hz. Not only sea turtle but the others might also hear within the same range of frequency. Why? Because according to a research all species of turtle whether aquatic or non-aquatic have similar ear sizes. This also suggests that they might have a common ancestor too.
Turtles seem to express fondness of their owner. Yet, the bond formed is not like the one formed with cats and dogs.
Some people who own a pet turtle tell that the playful reptile has learned to recognize our voice.
Thus from this we can conclude that yes! Turtles can hear.
