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NASA, license: CC BY-NC 4.0, source: iNaturalist
Superclass:
Osteichthyes
Class:
Teleostei
Order:
Batrachoidiformes
Family:
Batrachoididae
Subfamily:
Batrachoidinae
Genus:
Opsanus
Species:
tau
Common:
Oyster toadfish
Climates:
Tropical
Temperate
Subtropical
Boreal
Waters:
Brackish water
Marine
Map of Known Habitats
Hover on map to view region name
(Click map to search in region)
Regions:
Atlantic, Northwest
Atlantic, Western Central
Description
Sound Name: Unnamed
Citable References
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML112915)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML111996)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML112912)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116992)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML112914)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116187)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML112916)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116185)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116993)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116982)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116995)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116996)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116998)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116994)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116997)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116186)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116999)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116184)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML112913)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML117263)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML117264)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML126216)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML116980)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML112911)
Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML126217)
Fish, M. P. 1948. Sonic Fishes of the Pacific. Office of Naval Research, Contract N6 ori-195, No. 2 TO 1, NR-083-003, Technical Report No. 2.
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Species Identified
Sound Detected
Active
Passive Feeding
Other Passive
Morphophysiological
Auditory
Visual
Fine, M. L. 1983. Frequency Response of the Swimbladder of the Oyster Toadfish. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, 74(3): 659-663.
Weigel, E. M. 2019. The Biogenic Soundscape: Temporal Patterns of an Estuarine Creek Near Savannah, Georgia. Master's Thesis, Savannah State University.
Putland, R. L., Mackiewicz, A. G., Mensinger, A. F. 2018. Localizing individual Soniferous Fish Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring. Ecological Informatics, 48: 60-68.
Krahforst, C. S. 2017. Impact of Vessel Noise on Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau) Behavior and Implications for Underwater Noise Management. PhD Dissertation, East Carolina Univeristy.
Perkins, P. J. 2001. Drumming and Chattering Sounds Recorded Underwater in Rhode Island. Northeastern Naturalist, 8(3): 359-370.
Appelt, D., Shen, V., Franzini-Armstrong, C. 1991. Quantitation of Ca ATPase, Feet and Mitochondria in Superfast Muscle Fibres from the Toadfish, Opsanus tau. Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility, 12(6): 543-552.
Dobrin, M. B. 1947. Measurements of Underwater Noise Produced by Marine Life. Science, 105(2714): 19-23.
Anderson, K. A., Rountree, R. A., Juanes, F. 2008. Soniferous Fishes in the Hudson River. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 137(2): 616-626.
Fine, M. L., King, T. L., Ali, H., Sidker, N., Cameron, T. M. 2016. Wall Structure and Material Properties Cause Viscous Damping of Swimbladder Sounds in the Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1841).
Winn, H. E. 1972. Acoustic Discrimination by the Toadfish with Comments on Signal Systems. Behavior of Marine Animals, 361-385. Springer, Boston, MA.
Fine, M. L., Perini, M. A. 1994. Sound Production Evoked by Electrical Stimulation of the forebrain in the Oyster Toadfish. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 174(2): 173-185.
Smott, S., Monczak, A., Miller, M. E., Montie, E. W. 2018. Boat Noise in an Estuarine Soundscape – a Potential Risk on the Acoustic Communication and Reproduction of Soniferous Fish in the May River, South Carolina. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 133: 246-260.
Fine, M. L., Keefer, D. A., Leichnetz, G. R. 1982. Testosterone Uptake in the Brainstem of a Sound-Producing Fish. Science, 215(4537): 1265-1267.
Wirth, C. 2018. Measuring Biotic and Anthropogenic Sounds in Temperate and Tropical Marine Habitats Using Passive Acoustics. Master's Thesis, Stony Brook University.
Ricci, S. W., Eggleston, D. B., Bohnenstiehl, D. R. 2017. Use of Passive Acoustic Monitoring To Characterize Fish Spawning Behavior And Habitat Use within A Complex Mosaic of Estuarine Habitats. Bulletin of Marine Science, 93(2): 439-453.
Mitchell, S., Poland, J., Fine, M. L. 2008. Does Muscle Fatigue Limit Advertisement Calling in the Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau? Animal Behaviour, 76(3): 1011-1016.
Lillis, A., Eggleston, D. B., Bohnenstiehl, D. R. 2014. Estuarine Soundscapes: Distinct Acoustic Characteristics of Oyster Reefs Compared to Soft-Bottom Habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 505: 1-17.
Fine, M. L., Malloy, K. L., King, C. B., Mitchell, S. L., Cameron, T. M. 2001. Movement and Sound Generation by the Toadfish Swimbladder. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 187(5): 371-379.
Wall, C. C., Simard, P., Mann, D. A. 2012. Distribution and Potential Impact of Boat Noise on Fish Sound Production from an Autonomous Acoustic Array in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II (A. N. Popper and A. Hawkins, eds.), 403-406. Springer, New York, NY.
Fine, M. L., Waybright, T. D. 2015. Grunt Variation in the Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau: Effect of Size and Sex. PeerJ, 3.
Rogers, L. S. 2019. The Effect of Biological and Anthropogenic Sound Playbacks and Self-Generated Movement on the Hearing Sensitivity of the Oyster Toadfish, Opsanus tau. Master's Thesis, University of Minnesota.
Amorim, M. C. P., McCracken, M. L., Fine, M. L. 2002. Bioenergetics of Calling in Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau. Bioacoustics, 12(2-3): 223-225.
Monczak, A., Mueller, C., Miller, M. E., Ji, Y., Borgianini, S. A., Montie, E. W. 2019. Sound Patterns of Snapping Shrimp, Fish, and Dolphins in an Estuarine Soundscape of the Southeastern USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 609: 49-68.
Freytag, G. 1971. Practical Applications and Limitations in the Method of Fish Finding by Passive Listening. Modern Fishing Gear of the World, 3: 51-55.
Anderson, K. A., Rountree, R., Juanes, F. 2004. The Distribution and Behavior of Soniferous Fishes in the Hudson River: Focusing on Striped Cusk-Eel, Ophidium marginatum. Final Reports of the Tilbot T. Polgar Fellowship Program (J. R. Waldman and W. C. Nieder, eds.). Hudson River Foundation.
Rogers, L. S., Putland, R. L., Mensinger, A. F. 2020. The Effect of Biological and Anthropogenic Sound on the Auditory Sensitivity of Oyster Toadfish, Opsanus tau. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 206(1): 1-14.
Rountree, R. A., Juanes, F., Blue, J. E. 2002. Soniferous Fishes of Massachusetts. Listening to Fish: Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Applications of Passive Acoustics to Fisheries, 77-84.
Fine, M. L., Economos, D., Radtke, R., McClung, J. R. 1984. Ontogeny and Sexual Dimorphism of the Sonic Motor Nucleus in the Oyster Toadfish. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 225(1): 105-110.
Fine, M. L., Bernard, B., Harris, T. M. 1993. Functional Morphology of Toadfish Sonic Muscle Fibers: Relationship to Possible Fiber Division. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 71(11): 2262-2274.
Fine, M. L., Mosca, P. J. 1995. A Golgi and Horseradish-Peroxidase Study of the Sonic Motor Nucleus of the Oyster Toadfish. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 45(3): 123-137.
Lillis, A. S. 2014. Habitat-Associated Soundscapes and Their Potential Role as a Settlement Cue for Estuarine Larvae. PhD Dissertation, North Carolina State University.
Elemans, C. P. H., Mensinger, A. F., Rome, L. C. 2014. Vocal Production Complexity Correlates with Neural instructions in the Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau). Journal of Experimental Biology, 217(11): 1887-1893.
Luczkovich, J. J., Krahforst, C. S., Hoppe, H., Sprague, M. W. 2016. Does Vessel Noise Affect Oyster Toadfish Calling Rates? Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II (A. N. Popper and A. Hawkins, eds.), 647-653. Springer, New York, NY.
Rome, L. C., Syme, D. A., Hollingworth, S., Lindstedt, S. L., Baylor, S. M. 1996. The Whistle and the Rattle: The Design of Sound Producing Muscles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 93(15): 8095-8100.
Ricci, S. W., Eggleston, D. B., Bohnenstiehl, D. R., Lillis, A. 2016. Temporal Soundscape Patterns and Processes in an Estuarine Reserve. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 550: 25-38.
Mosharo, K. K. 2014. The Role of Acoustic Signals in Fish Courtship and Challenges in Bioacoustic Fish Research. PhD Dissertation, Boston University.
Fine, M. L., King, C. B., Cameron, T. M. 2009. Acoustical Properties of the Swimbladder in the Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau. Journal of Experimental Biology, 212(21): 3542-3552.
Montie, E. W., Vega, S., Powell, M. 2015. Seasonal and Spatial Patterns of Fish Sound Production in the May River, South Carolina. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 144(4): 705-716.
Edds-Walton, P. L., Mangiamele, L. A., Rome, L. C. 2002. Variations of Pulse Repitition Rate in Boatwhistle Sounds from Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau around Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts. Bioacoustics, 13(2): 153-173.
Young, I. S., Rome, L. C. 2001. Mutually Exclusive Muscle Designs: The Power Output of the Locomotory and Sonic Muscles of the Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 268(1480): 1965-1970.
Mackiewicz, A. G., Putland, R. L., Mensinger, A. F. 2021. Effects of Vessel Sound on Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau Calling Behavior. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 662: 115-124.
Hirsch, J. E., Bigbee, J. W., Fine, M. L. 1998. Continuous Adult Development of Multiple innervation in Toadfish Sonic Muscle. Journal of Neurobiology, 36(3): 348-356.
Ricci, S. W., Bohnenstiehl, D. R., Eggleston, D. B., Kellogg, M. L., Lyon, R. P. 2017. Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau) Boatwhistle Call Detection and Patterns within a Large-Scale Oyster Restoration Site. PLoS ONE, 12(8).
Fine, M. L., Lenhardt, M. L. 1983. Shallow-Water Propagation of the Toadfish Mating Call. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, 76(2): 225-231.
Galeo, A. J., Fine, M. L., Stevenson, J. A. 1987. Embryonic and Larval Development of the Sonic Motor Nucleus in the Oyster Toadfish. Journal of Neurobiology, 18(4): 359-373.
Barimo, J. F., Fine, M. L. 1998. Relationship of Swim-Bladder Shape to the Directionality Pattern of Underwater Sound in the Oyster Toadfish. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 76(1): 134-143.
Amorim, M. C. P., McCracken, M. L., Fine, M. L. 2002. Metabolic Costs of Sound Production in the Oyster Toadfish, Opsanus tau. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80(5): 830-838.
Fine, M. L., Pennypacker, K. R. 1986. Hormonal Basis for Sexual Dimorphism of the Sound-Producing Apparatus of the Oyster Toadfish. Experimental Neurology, 92(2): 289-298.
Deville, P. M. 2019. Localization of Soniferous Fish Using a Sparse Hydrophone Array and Conventional Steered Response Power Method. Master's Thesis, East Carolina Univeristy.
Various Artists. 1952. Sounds of the Sea, Vol. 1. Sonic Fish Sounds. Underwater Sounds of Biological Origin. Folkways Records. Album No. FX6121.
Fine, M. L., McKnight, J. W. J., Blem, C. R. 1995. Effect of Size and Sex on Buoyancy in the Oyster Toadfish. Marine Biology, 123(3): 401-409.
Skoglund, C. R. 1959. Neuromuscular Mechanisms of Sound Production in Opsanus tau. Biological Bulletin, 117: 438-438.
Johnson, M. S., Waybright, T. D., Matt, D. W., Feher, J. J., Fine, M. L. 2000. Absence of a Seasonal Cycle in the Sonic Neuromuscular System of the Oyster Toadfish. Journal of Fish Biology, 56(1): 211-215.
Tavolga, W. N., Popper, A. N., Fay, R. R. (Eds.). 1981. Hearing and Sound Communication in Fishes. Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Fish, M. P., Kelsey, A. S. J., Mowbray, W. H. 1952. Studies on the Production of Underwater Sound by North Atlantic Coastal Fishes. Journal of Marine Research, 11(2): 180-193.
Fine, M. L., Keefer, D. A., Russel-Mergenthal, H. 1990. Autoradiographic Localization of Estrogen-Concentrating Cells in the Brain and Pituitary of the Oyster Toadfish. Brain Research, 536(1-2): 207-219.
Fine, M. L. 1975. Sexual Dimorphism of the Growth Rate of the Swimbladder of the Toadfish Opsanus tau. Copeia, 1975(3): 483-490.
Tavolga, W. N. 1967. Marine Animal Data Atlas. Technical Teport 1212-2, American Museum of Natural History and U.S. Naval Training Device Center, Orlando, FL.
Fish, M. P., Mowbray, W. H. 1970. Sounds of Western North Atlantic Fishes, A Reference File of Biological Underwater Sounds. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD.
Fine, M. L. 1982. Possible Lateralization of Function in Toadfish Sound Production. Physiology & Behavior, 29(1): 167-169.
Tower, R. W. 1908. The Production of Sound in the Drumfishes, the Sea-Robin and the Toadfish. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 18(5): 149-180.
Monczak, A., Berry, A., Kehrer, C., Montie, E. W. 2017. Long-Term Acoustic Monitoring of Fish Calling Provides Baseline Estimates of Reproductive Time-Lines in the May River Estuary, Southeastern USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 581: 1-19.
Fine, M. L., Malloy, K. L., King, C. B., Mitchell, S. L., Cameron, T. M. 2002. Sound Generation by the Toadfish Swimbladder. Bioacoustics, 12(2-3): 220-222.
Fish, M. P. 1954. The Character and Significance of Sound Production among Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection, 14(3): 1-109.
Van Wert, J. C., Mensinger, A. F. 2019. Seasonal and Daily Patterns of the Mating Calls of the Oyster Toadfish, Opsanus tau. Biological Bulletin, 236(2): 97-107.
Maruska, K. P., Mensinger, A. F. 2009. Acoustic Characteristics and Variations in Grunt Vocalizations in the Oyster Toadfish Opsanus tau. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 84(3): 325-337.
Burkenroad, M. D. 1931. Notes on the Sound-Producing Marine Fishes of Louisiana. Copeia, 1931(1): 20-28.