Reconstructing a Jurassic soundscape

Reconstructing Jurassic insect sounds

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In this episode, Fernando Montealegre-Zapata and Daniel Robert reconstruct the sounds of Jurassic insects.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction. •[00:55] Bioacoustician Fernando Montealegre-Zapata and sensory biologist Daniel Robert recount what was known before this study about the sounds produced by long-extinct animals. •[02:18] They tell us about the kinds of fossilized body parts they were able to study and how they produce sounds. •[03:45] Montealegre-Zapata and Robert talk about the tools they used to recreate the sounds these fossil animals produced. •[05:01] They describe pure tones, and why it's important to know that Jurassic insects produced them. •[06:22] Robert explains why it's important that some species could produce ultrasonic tones, and what that means for the evolution of later ultrasonic species like bats. •[07:13] Montealegre-Zapata and Robert recount other results about the diversity of sounds Jurassic insects produced. •[08:38] They list the caveats or limitations of the study. •[10:10] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Fernando Montealegre-Zapata Professor University of Lincoln

Daniel Robert Professor University of Bristol

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2615107123

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