Vocalizations of the plains rat Pseudomys australis Gray (Rodentia : Muridae)

Abstract

The sounds produced in the laboratory by P. australis were investigated using a tape recorder and Kay Sound Spectrograph. Eleven basic calls were recognized and described: pain squeal, nest squeal, ultrasonic pip, defensive screech, tooth chatter, silent screech, blub, short whistle, long whistle, chirp and sniffle. An attempt was made to define the conditions under which these calls were made and possible functions are suggested for some of the calls.