Among the lizards, the gecko is the noisiest, but it is not the only vocal animal in this order, and some lizards also make sounds.
Inside the Sunset Zoo on Manhattan Island, Kansas, a large gecko grimaced at the camera.
Photo by JOEL SARTORE, National Geographic
When I lived in Florida, as soon as I opened the gates, there was bound to be a gecko or a kind of lizard grabbing the door and coming out. But I've never heard them complain.
Well, it's also possible that I didn't listen at all.
Elizabeth John asked Saturday's Bizarre Animal Question Collection via Facebook, "Do lizards make sounds?" "To this end, I deliberately consulted relevant experts and learned some idiomatic terms of lizards. I found that lizards are not mime actors in the animal world.
Let's start with the gecko
"It's true that most lizards don't make sounds, but there are some outliers, and they make a lot of strange sounds," Robert Espinosa, a biologist at California State University, Northridge, explained in an email.
Geckos are the noisiest, some of which make sounds such as "chirping, ticking, squeaking, and some sounds that humans can't hear," Espinosa said.
"The chirping sound of geckos, sometimes referred to as 'roaring,' either means declaring territory or being a courtship gesture," Pitt Sani, a biologist at the University of Wisconsin, said in an email to block invading male geckos or attract female geckos.
Some geckos are particularly striking, such as the Mediterranean gecko, which makes a "squeaking" sound when fighting and a flirtatious "ticking" sound when attracting females. The turnip-tailed gecko in Central and South America makes a "ticking" sound when defending territory, as if imitating insects. The Giant Gecko of New California can reach a length of up to 36 centimeters and is known locally as the "Devil in the Trees" for its terrifying call.
Some geckos may be named for their calls: for example, large asian male geckos make loud and persistent mating calls.
Lizards may not be as noisy as geckos, but some lizards also make sounds when communicating.
Lizards can make "hissing" sounds, often as a form of self-defense to scare off potential intruders, Sani said.
The lizard drains the airflow from the lungs, which then passes through the glottis so that it can make a sound, Espinosa explains. This also means that they tend to open their mouths widely when they make sounds, suggesting that intruders can signal sound and will also come forward to bite.
The Sheila, an indigenous species in the southwestern United States, can inject toxins into enemy wounds through grooves in their teeth, and they make a clear "hissing" sound when they attack.
There are also some lizards that also make "hissing" sounds, such as the Australian blue-tongued lizard and the Australian monitor lizard, which inflates the skin around the throat when it makes a warning sound.
The eastern blue-tongued lizard swallows its tongue quickly when it poses in a threatening posture.
Photo by Michael, PATRICIA FOGDEN, Minton Photo/National Geographic
Larger lizards usually make "hissing" sounds, espinosa explains, most likely "because smaller lizards don't produce the desired intimidation effect when they make this sound." ”
Vocal lizards "are scattered throughout the lizard population," he says, "suggesting that some lizard populations may have evolved to stimulate vocalization for similar reasons." ”
The New Zealand Lizard is a close relative of the lizard and is also noisy. New Zealand lizards make a "wow" sound when attacked, and "their voice becomes very gentle when courtship," Espinosa says.
As for those geckos who are accidentally frightened? Espinosa thinks they are likely to be geckos that make "chirping" sounds on spring and summer nights.