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| Secret communication of sea animals discovered | Secret communication of sea animals discovered |
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| It turns out that caecilians - a group of limbless underwater amphibians - can "talk" | |
| A scientist has found that 53 sea creatures previously thought to be silent can actually communicate. | A scientist has found that 53 sea creatures previously thought to be silent can actually communicate. |
| The creatures were sending message all along, but humans had never thought to listen to them, Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen suggests. | The creatures were sending message all along, but humans had never thought to listen to them, Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen suggests. |
| He used microphones to record the species, including turtles, communicating they wanted to mate or hatch from the egg. | He used microphones to record the species, including turtles, communicating they wanted to mate or hatch from the egg. |
| The findings claim to re-write some of what we know about evolution. | The findings claim to re-write some of what we know about evolution. |
| They suggest that all vertebrates that breathe through their noses and use sound to communicate descended from a single ancestor 400 million years ago. | They suggest that all vertebrates that breathe through their noses and use sound to communicate descended from a single ancestor 400 million years ago. |
| It is a strong claim in evolutionary biology which debates whether living things descended from a single ancestor or from multiple origins. | It is a strong claim in evolutionary biology which debates whether living things descended from a single ancestor or from multiple origins. |
| Mr Jorgewich-Cohen, a PhD student at University of Zurich, Switzerland began his work with a hunch that marine animals might communicate with sound. | Mr Jorgewich-Cohen, a PhD student at University of Zurich, Switzerland began his work with a hunch that marine animals might communicate with sound. |
| He used sound and video equipment to record 53 species in captivity around the world, including at Chester Zoo in England. | He used sound and video equipment to record 53 species in captivity around the world, including at Chester Zoo in England. |
| The creatures included 50 turtles, a tuatara, a lungfish and a caecilian. | The creatures included 50 turtles, a tuatara, a lungfish and a caecilian. |
| A South American river turtle sending a message during the research | A South American river turtle sending a message during the research |
| It had been thought that all these animals were mute but Mr Jorgewich-Cohen suggests they went unheard because their sounds were hard to detect. | It had been thought that all these animals were mute but Mr Jorgewich-Cohen suggests they went unheard because their sounds were hard to detect. |
| "We know when a bird sings. You don't need anyone to tell you what it is. But some of these animals are very quiet or make a sound every two days," he told BBC News. | "We know when a bird sings. You don't need anyone to tell you what it is. But some of these animals are very quiet or make a sound every two days," he told BBC News. |
| Mr Jorgewich-Cohen also suggested that humans have a bias towards creatures that live on land and so they ignored species underwater. | Mr Jorgewich-Cohen also suggested that humans have a bias towards creatures that live on land and so they ignored species underwater. |
| Video recorded of the animals when they made noise allowed him to connect sound with an associated behaviour - to distinguish from accidental sounds that don't send a message. | Video recorded of the animals when they made noise allowed him to connect sound with an associated behaviour - to distinguish from accidental sounds that don't send a message. |
| "Sea turtles will sing from within their egg to synchronise hatching," he explained. | "Sea turtles will sing from within their egg to synchronise hatching," he explained. |
| "If they call from inside, they all come out together and hopefully avoid being eaten." | "If they call from inside, they all come out together and hopefully avoid being eaten." |
| Tuataras make noise to stop animals breaching their territory | Tuataras make noise to stop animals breaching their territory |
| Turtles also make noises to indicate they want to mate, he said, pointing to videos of turtle mating sounds that are popular on social media. | Turtles also make noises to indicate they want to mate, he said, pointing to videos of turtle mating sounds that are popular on social media. |
| Mr Jorgewich-Cohen also recorded tuataras making sounds to guard their territory. | Mr Jorgewich-Cohen also recorded tuataras making sounds to guard their territory. |
| He then began to consider what the discovery revealed about the evolution of noise-making animals. | He then began to consider what the discovery revealed about the evolution of noise-making animals. |
| Fossils often do not tell scientists enough about animals that lived millions of years ago so instead they compare the behaviour of living animals. | Fossils often do not tell scientists enough about animals that lived millions of years ago so instead they compare the behaviour of living animals. |
| Using a technique called phylogenetic analysis, Mr Jorgevich-Cohen traced back the relationship between noise-making animals. | Using a technique called phylogenetic analysis, Mr Jorgevich-Cohen traced back the relationship between noise-making animals. |
| The technique works by comparing behaviours of a species and mapping them like a family tree. If, for example, a human and chimpanzee share behaviour like making noise it suggests that the ancestor in common also produced sound. | The technique works by comparing behaviours of a species and mapping them like a family tree. If, for example, a human and chimpanzee share behaviour like making noise it suggests that the ancestor in common also produced sound. |
| He concluded that all acoustic communication in vertebrates descended from a single ancestor 400 million years ago, which was the Devonian period when most species lived under water. | He concluded that all acoustic communication in vertebrates descended from a single ancestor 400 million years ago, which was the Devonian period when most species lived under water. |
| That contrasts to recent work that traced communicative sound to several different species 200 million years ago. | That contrasts to recent work that traced communicative sound to several different species 200 million years ago. |
| Biologist Catherine Hobaiter, who was not part of the research, told BBC News that recordings of these 53 species was a welcome addition to what we know about acoustic communication. | Biologist Catherine Hobaiter, who was not part of the research, told BBC News that recordings of these 53 species was a welcome addition to what we know about acoustic communication. |
| "Comparing species like chimpanzees and humans only gets us back a few million years," she said. | "Comparing species like chimpanzees and humans only gets us back a few million years," she said. |
| "We need to see common features across much more distant relatives to push our understanding back into hundreds of millions of years." | "We need to see common features across much more distant relatives to push our understanding back into hundreds of millions of years." |
| The research is published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. | The research is published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. |