Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'

News News

Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'
United Kingdom Latest News,United Kingdom Headlines
  • 📰 NBCNewsHealth
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 19 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 11%
  • Publisher: 51%

The various species of whales inhabiting Earth’s oceans employ different types of vocalizations to communicate.

Sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, communicate using bursts of clicking noises — called codas — sounding a bit like Morse code. A new analysis of years of vocalizations by sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean has found that their system of communication is more sophisticated than previously known, exhibiting a complex internal structure replete with a “phonetic alphabet.

The whales, among other things, altered the duration of the codas and sometimes added an extra click at the end, like a suffix in human language. “All of these different codas that we see are actually built by combining a comparatively simple set of smaller pieces,” said study co-author Jacob Andreas, an MIT computer science professor and Project CETI member.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

NBCNewsHealth /  🏆 707. in US

United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart buys stake in rare earths producer LynasAustralian billionaire Gina Rinehart buys stake in rare earths producer LynasNo 1 source of global mining news and opinion
Read more »

Venus Exploration Remains Key To Understanding Exo-Earths, Says PaperVenus Exploration Remains Key To Understanding Exo-Earths, Says PaperI'm a science journalist and host of Cosmic Controversy (brucedorminey.podbean.com) as well as author of 'Distant Wanderers: the Search for Planets Beyond the Solar System.' I primarily cover aerospace and astronomy.
Read more »

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Two Review - Disappointing Superhero Film Lacks UrgencyJustice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Two Review - Disappointing Superhero Film Lacks UrgencyBatman, Robins and Batgirl Gathering To Fight Army Of Shadows In Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 2
Read more »

Australian rare earths miner Lynas’ revenue slumps on falling pricesAustralian rare earths miner Lynas’ revenue slumps on falling pricesNo 1 source of global mining news and opinion
Read more »

The Dirtiest Side of EVs: Rare Earths and Conflict MetalsA difficult look into the most troubling side of the growing proliferation of EVs and hybrid vehicles.
Read more »

Australian Strategic gets debt funding for rare earths projectAustralian Strategic gets debt funding for rare earths projectNo 1 source of global mining news and opinion
Read more »



Render Time: 2025-04-02 07:53:31