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Rig sharks, small sharks from New Zealand waters, make sharp clicking sounds when they are handled. Recorded in 2025, it was the first documented case of a shark producing sound on its own.

Royal Society Open Science, 2025

OceanScience

The story behind the card

Many bony fish grunt or drum using their swim bladder, a gas-filled sac that sharks do not have, so sharks were long assumed to be silent. A team led by marine biologist Carolin Nieder, working at the University of Auckland, recorded young rig sharks in tanks and found that they clicked when gently held. The clicks seem to come from the shark snapping its flat, overlapping teeth together rather than from a special sound-making organ. What they are for is still unknown; one idea is that they are a startle response to being grabbed. The findings were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science in March 2025, and researchers now want to know whether other sharks make sounds too.

Türkçe oku
Yeni Zelanda sularında yaşayan küçük bir köpekbalığı türü olan rig köpekbalığı, elle tutulduğunda keskin tıkırtılar çıkarır. 2025'te kaydedilen bu sesler, bir köpekbalığının kendi ürettiği sesin belgelenen ilk örneği oldu.
Royal Society Open Science dergisi, 2025

Pek çok kemikli balık, köpekbalıklarında bulunmayan ve içi gazla dolu bir kese olan yüzme kesesiyle homurtuya ya da davul sesine benzer sesler çıkarır; bu yüzden köpekbalıklarının uzun süre sessiz olduğu düşünüldü. Deniz biyoloğu Carolin Nieder'in Auckland Üniversitesi'nde yönettiği ekip, havuzlarda tutulan genç rig köpekbalıklarını kaydetti ve hayvanların yavaşça tutulduklarında tıkırdadığını gördü. Sesin özel bir organdan değil, köpekbalığının yassı, üst üste binen dişlerini birbirine vurmasından çıktığı sanılıyor. Tıkırtıların ne işe yaradığı henüz bilinmiyor; yakalanınca verilen bir irkilme tepkisi olabilir. Bulgular Mart 2025'te Royal Society Open Science dergisinde yayımlandı; araştırmacılar şimdi başka köpekbalıklarının da ses çıkarıp çıkarmadığını merak ediyor.

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