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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication

Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication

Published on: June 5, 2016

Evidence for echolocation in Asian shrew moles.

Qi Liu¹, Qin-Yang Hua^1,2, Shui-Wang He¹

¹State Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution & Animal Models, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.

National Science Review

|April 29, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Asian shrew moles use tongue-generated ultrasonic pulses for echolocation, a newly discovered sensory behavior in this mammalian lineage. This finding expands our understanding of echolocation diversity in mammals.

Keywords:

Uropsilinae echolocation mammals

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Area of Science:

Zoology
Bioacoustics
Sensory Ecology

Background:

Echolocation is crucial for navigation in low-visibility environments.
Nocturnal mammals, especially insectivorous moles, are hypothesized to use echolocation.
The diversity of echolocating mammals may be underestimated.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate echolocation abilities in Asian shrew moles (subfamily Uropsilinae).
To determine the mechanism and function of ultrasonic vocalizations in these moles.

Main Methods:

Recording and analyzing ultrasonic pulses produced by Asian shrew moles.
Conducting behavioral experiments to confirm echolocation usage.
Examining the morphology of the stylohyal bone and performing tongue ligation experiments.

Main Results:

Asian shrew moles produce ultrasonic pulses (50-100 kHz) resembling echolocation calls.
Behavioral tests confirmed the use of these calls for echolocation.
Tongue is identified as the vocalization source for echolocation.

Conclusions:

Asian shrew moles represent a new mammalian lineage capable of echolocation.
Echolocation has evolved independently at least six times in mammals.
The species diversity of echolocating mammals is likely significantly underestimated.