ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION IN EMBRYOS AND HATCHLINGS OF THE MAGDALENA RIVER TURTLE: Podocnemis lewyana

Abstract

This study provides the first evidence of acoustic communication of Podocnemis lewyana, an endemic species from Colombia, and presents the results of recordings made of hatching and post-hatching individuals up to two months of age. The vocal repertoire consists of 7 types of sounds varying from pulses to sounds with harmonic and non-harmonic bands, single and high-pitched tones, with frequencies ranging from 76 Hz to 24000 Hz. Additionally, it is suggested that P. lewyana possibly possesses a vocal repertoire equally complex to that of P. expansa, a closely related species.