Ultrasonic frog can tunes its ears like a radio
An ultrasonic frog which can tune its ears to different frequencies like a radio receiver has been discovered.
The Odorrana tormota frog is the only known animal that can actively select what frequencies it wants to hear.
Researchers found the odd frog near noisy springs in central China and think it uses the ability to 'tune-out' unwanted noise.
The discovery was made when they examined the eardrums of the weird frog, using a laser vibrometer to measure the eardrum's vibration. It was found that the eardrum did respond to sounds in the sonic and ultrasonic ranges.
But bizarrely the eardrum's sensitivity to ultrasound sometimes disappeared altogether - something they now know it was controlling.
"The frogs appear to be able to tune in to specific sound frequencies at will," said team leader Albert Feng, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology at Illinois.
"They can shift to high frequency and ultrasonic hearing when the low frequency background noise of rushing water is too intense for them to pick out the calls of potential mates or rivals.
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