1 year, 5 months ago
What is the loudest animal on the planet earth?
Dogs bark, cats meow, elephants trumpet, lions roar, politicians lie... I am looking for the loudest animal sound.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$3 Answers
It depends upon what you mean by "loud". There are plenty of ways to objectively measure a sound; but, they are not all the same and they are not entirely comparable.
The dictionary defines loud in your context as "marked by intensity or volume of sound." But the Wikipedia article discusses at more length: "Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound strength such as sound pressure, sound pressure level (in decibels), sound intensity or sound power. Filters such as A-weighting attempt to adjust sound measurements to correspond to loudness as perceived by the typical human. However, loudness perception is a much more complex process than A-weighting.needed Furthermore, as the perception of loudness varies from person to person it cannot be universally measured using any single metric.needed
Loudness is also affected by parameters other than sound pressure, including frequency, bandwidth and duration"
In writing of animal sounds, many sites seize upon measurements of basic sound pressure level in decibels without considering frequency, bandwidth, or duration, or even if the sound is in or out of water.
Here is a chart showing the effect of frequency on loudness, human speech is around the middle:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Lindos1.svg/668px-Lindos1.svg.png
The effect of duration is of particular importance with very intense sounds. Those above 85 dB continuously will harm your hearing; but, it takes 8 hours at 85 db. Each three decibels louder reduces the time in half, so that 115 dB will harm your hearing in about 30 seconds.
The effect of being underwater on human hearing is also significant, it basically reduces the effect of sound by between 30 and 80 dB depending upon the frequency. Here is a chart:
http://www.subacoustech.com/research/images/human_hearing_thresholds.png
Distance also matters greatly, as the loudness drops rapidly with distance and not all quoted measurments use the same distance.
So, with those things in mind, let's consider the best known contenders for loudest animal.
The Howler monkey has been measured at 88 dB at a distance of five meters. It uses a frequency around 200 Hz. (middle C is 262 Hz). So, if you sit on a branch with a Howler monkey all afternoon when it is in full cry it could damage your hearing. In fact though, they only call from time to time, particularly at dawn and dusk. There are nine species. I have visited a Howler monkey preserve in Belize, and while they can be heard through the trees, they are quiet and polite when they come near looking for a treat. You can listen for yourself at many zoos.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Howler_monkey.jpg/800px-Howler_monkey.jpg
The Blue Whale has been reported as follows:
"Estimates made by Cummings and Thompson (1971)1 and Richardson et al. (1995)2 suggest that source level of sounds made by Blue Whales are between 155 and 188 decibels when measured at a reference pressure of one micropascal at one metre. All Blue Whale groups make calls at a fundamental frequency of between 10 and 40 Hz, and the lowest frequency sound a human can typically perceive is 20 Hz. Blue Whale calls last between ten and thirty seconds"
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Bluewhale877.jpg
You would not want to be one meter from a Blue Whale when it sang, even with the roughly 30 dB benefit of the water.
The Pistol Shrimp (of which there are many species) is reported as follows:
"It corresponds to a zero to peak pressure level of 218 decibels relative to one micropascal (dB re 1 μPa), equivalent to a zero to peak source level of 190 dB re 1 μPa at the standard reference distance of 1 m. Au and Banks measured peak to peak source levels between 185 and 190 dB re 1 μPa at 1 m, depending on the size of the claw.10 Similar values are reported by Ferguson and Cleary.11 The duration of the click is less than 1 millisecond."
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Alpheus_distinguendus.jpg/600px-Alpheus_distinguendus.jpg
So these shrimp are matching 190 dB to the whale's 188 dB at the same distance; but, only for less than a millisecond! Their clicks don't have a frequency, it's apparently just one wave. It's like comparing a gunshot to a foghorn, only more so. The shrimp are quite common in places including some coral reefs, and there seem to be no reports of hearing damage to scuba divers.
My personal opinion would be to go with your suggestion that the Politician is the loudest animal. Humans can reach about 70 dB. Their vocal range is concentrated in the frequencies that our ears are most sensitive to hearing. And, they talk so long. Senator Sanders the other day gave a 9 hour speech on the Senate floor. You'll never hear a monkey, whale, or shrimp do that.
http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/image/floor1.jpg
http://mw1.meriam-webster.com/dictionary/loud
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness
http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/virtualexhibit/6measuringsound.html
http://www.subacoustech.com/research/underwater_hearing.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howler_monkey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_whale_songs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheidae
The dictionary defines loud in your context as "marked by intensity or volume of sound." But the Wikipedia article discusses at more length: "Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound strength such as sound pressure, sound pressure level (in decibels), sound intensity or sound power. Filters such as A-weighting attempt to adjust sound measurements to correspond to loudness as perceived by the typical human. However, loudness perception is a much more complex process than A-weighting.needed Furthermore, as the perception of loudness varies from person to person it cannot be universally measured using any single metric.needed
Loudness is also affected by parameters other than sound pressure, including frequency, bandwidth and duration"
In writing of animal sounds, many sites seize upon measurements of basic sound pressure level in decibels without considering frequency, bandwidth, or duration, or even if the sound is in or out of water.
Here is a chart showing the effect of frequency on loudness, human speech is around the middle:
The effect of duration is of particular importance with very intense sounds. Those above 85 dB continuously will harm your hearing; but, it takes 8 hours at 85 db. Each three decibels louder reduces the time in half, so that 115 dB will harm your hearing in about 30 seconds.
The effect of being underwater on human hearing is also significant, it basically reduces the effect of sound by between 30 and 80 dB depending upon the frequency. Here is a chart:
Distance also matters greatly, as the loudness drops rapidly with distance and not all quoted measurments use the same distance.
So, with those things in mind, let's consider the best known contenders for loudest animal.
The Howler monkey has been measured at 88 dB at a distance of five meters. It uses a frequency around 200 Hz. (middle C is 262 Hz). So, if you sit on a branch with a Howler monkey all afternoon when it is in full cry it could damage your hearing. In fact though, they only call from time to time, particularly at dawn and dusk. There are nine species. I have visited a Howler monkey preserve in Belize, and while they can be heard through the trees, they are quiet and polite when they come near looking for a treat. You can listen for yourself at many zoos.
The Blue Whale has been reported as follows:
"Estimates made by Cummings and Thompson (1971)1 and Richardson et al. (1995)2 suggest that source level of sounds made by Blue Whales are between 155 and 188 decibels when measured at a reference pressure of one micropascal at one metre. All Blue Whale groups make calls at a fundamental frequency of between 10 and 40 Hz, and the lowest frequency sound a human can typically perceive is 20 Hz. Blue Whale calls last between ten and thirty seconds"
You would not want to be one meter from a Blue Whale when it sang, even with the roughly 30 dB benefit of the water.
The Pistol Shrimp (of which there are many species) is reported as follows:
"It corresponds to a zero to peak pressure level of 218 decibels relative to one micropascal (dB re 1 μPa), equivalent to a zero to peak source level of 190 dB re 1 μPa at the standard reference distance of 1 m. Au and Banks measured peak to peak source levels between 185 and 190 dB re 1 μPa at 1 m, depending on the size of the claw.10 Similar values are reported by Ferguson and Cleary.11 The duration of the click is less than 1 millisecond."
So these shrimp are matching 190 dB to the whale's 188 dB at the same distance; but, only for less than a millisecond! Their clicks don't have a frequency, it's apparently just one wave. It's like comparing a gunshot to a foghorn, only more so. The shrimp are quite common in places including some coral reefs, and there seem to be no reports of hearing damage to scuba divers.
My personal opinion would be to go with your suggestion that the Politician is the loudest animal. Humans can reach about 70 dB. Their vocal range is concentrated in the frequencies that our ears are most sensitive to hearing. And, they talk so long. Senator Sanders the other day gave a 9 hour speech on the Senate floor. You'll never hear a monkey, whale, or shrimp do that.
http://mw1.meriam-webster.com/dictionary/loud
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness
http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/virtualexhibit/6measuringsound.html
http://www.subacoustech.com/research/underwater_hearing.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howler_monkey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_whale_songs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheidae
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Report Abuse
It is the Pistol Shrimp.
According to,
http://www.amazingtopics.com/top-12-loudest-animals-that-can-make-you-deaf.html
----quote------
Blue Whale used to be loudest animal, until researchers found and animal loudest than Blue Whale…Maybe you wont believe it!
They beat Blue Whale as the loudest water animal as well the loudest living animals.
They can make extremely loud sound that can reach over 200 dB and louder than the mountain eruption.
Fortunately they live under the deep sea…you know why? Because human can only hear as loud as 120-130 dB, louder than that, well get extremely pain on ears and deaf.
----end quote----
Watch this noisy creature in action,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6I8iPiHT8
According to,
http://www.amazingtopics.com/top-12-loudest-animals-that-can-make-you-deaf.html
----quote------
Blue Whale used to be loudest animal, until researchers found and animal loudest than Blue Whale…Maybe you wont believe it!
They beat Blue Whale as the loudest water animal as well the loudest living animals.
They can make extremely loud sound that can reach over 200 dB and louder than the mountain eruption.
Fortunately they live under the deep sea…you know why? Because human can only hear as loud as 120-130 dB, louder than that, well get extremely pain on ears and deaf.
----end quote----
Watch this noisy creature in action,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6I8iPiHT8
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Sorry to quote, but I couldn't say it any differently so I'm giving credit where it's due:
"Blue whales' low-frequency pulses are as loud as 188 decibels—louder than a jet engine—and can be detected more than 500 miles away. On land, the loudest animals are howler monkeys, whose howl can be heard three miles away." - http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AnimalRecords/default.cfm
Besides if I'd answered it by myself I would have said a certain type of frog. And I'd have been wrong. :)
"Blue whales' low-frequency pulses are as loud as 188 decibels—louder than a jet engine—and can be detected more than 500 miles away. On land, the loudest animals are howler monkeys, whose howl can be heard three miles away." - http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AnimalRecords/default.cfm
Besides if I'd answered it by myself I would have said a certain type of frog. And I'd have been wrong. :)
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
