Scientists recreate sounds from Jurassic insects
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Thorin Jonsson from the University of Graz and his international team recreated sounds made by insects that lived 165 million years ago during the Jurassic period in Inner Mongolia, China.
The researchers analyzed exceptionally well-preserved fossils of nine grasshopper species, focusing on the structures on their wings that produced sounds called “stridulations.” By examining the number and spacing of teeth on the wings, and using simulations aided by artificial intelligence, the team reconstructed the pitches and rhythms of these ancient insect calls. They found that the insects produced a variety of frequencies, with some sounding like modern crickets and others like leafhoppers.
One species, Sigmaboilus peregrinus, a relative of the katydid, communicated using ultrasonic frequencies between 20 and 22 kilohertz, sounds above the range of human hearing. This discovery challenges previous theories that ultrasonic insect calls developed in response to bat hearing, as bats did not yet exist during the Jurassic period. Instead, the researchers suggest these high frequencies may have helped the insects avoid other predators or improve mating signals.
The study represents the oldest evidence of sound ever reproduced, similar to how musicians can still play a song inscribed on an ancient Greek gravestone. The team believes this research demonstrates that the soundscape of the Jurassic period was much more complex and diverse than previously understood, extending beyond the roars of dinosaurs to include the chirps and calls of insects.
