{{Short description|Deep resonating sound produced by animals}} {{other uses}} {{Multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 200px |image1=Christopher the Lion at Franklin Park Zoo (January Edition).webm|caption1=Captive lion roaring at the [[Franklin Park Zoo]] |image2=SibirischerTigerHagenbeck.ogv|caption2=Captive tiger roaring at [[Tierpark Hagenbeck]] }} A '''roar''' [[Help:IPA/English|/rɔːr/]] {{audio|En-us-roar.ogg|}} is a type of [[Animal communication#Auditory|animal vocalization]] that is loud, deep and [[acoustic resonance|resonating]]. Many [[mammal]]s have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of [[big cat]]s, [[bear]]s, [[pinniped]]s, [[deer]], [[Bovidae|bovids]], [[elephant]]s, and [[simian]]s.
The anatomical basis for the ability to roar often involves modifications to the [[larynx]] and [[hyoid bone]] and enlarged internal air spaces for low-frequency [[vocal resonation]]. While roaring, animals may stretch out their necks and elevate their heads to increase the space for resonance.
==Definition== The definition of "roar" has varied between species.<ref name="Frey"/> However Weissengruber et al. (2002) has given a more general description of roars as consisting of both a low [[fundamental frequency|pitch]] and low [[formant]].<ref name="Wessiengruber">{{cite journal|author1=Weissengruber, G. E. |author2=Forstenpointner, G. |author3=Peters, G. |author4=Kübber-Heiss, A. |author5=Fitch, W. T. |year=2002|title=Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (''Panthera leo''), jaguar (''Panthera onca''), tiger (''Panthera tigris''), cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') and domestic cat (''Felis silvestris f. catus'')|journal=Journal of Anatomy|volume=201|issue=3|pages=195–209|doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x|pmid=12363272|pmc=1570911}}</ref><ref name="Frey">{{cite book|author=Frey, Roland|author2= Gebler, Alban|year=2010|contribution=Chapter 10.3 – Mechanisms and evolution of roaring-like vocalization in mammals|title=Handbook of Mammalian Vocalization — An Integrative Neuroscience Approach|pages=439–450|publisher= Elsevier Science|editor=Brudzynski, Stefan M.|isbn=9780123745934}}</ref> They have used the roars of [[lion]]s and [[red deer]] as quintessential examples of the sound.<ref name="Wessiengruber"/> Other researchers have mentioned similar "roar-like" vocalizations where either the pitch or formant is still higher than in true roars.<ref name="Frey"/>
==Roaring anatomy== Roaring mammals have evolved various means to achieve their vocalizations. A proportionally large [[larynx]] contributes to a deeper pitch. The male hammer-headed bat has a larynx that takes up most of his thoracic cavity and is half the size of his backbone. A larger larynx also has enlarged [[vocal cord]]s which contributes to a deeper pitch and more massive folds leads to slower [[oscillation]].<ref name="Frey"/> In addition, the big cats ([[lion]], [[tiger]], [[jaguar]] and [[leopard]], referred to as the "roaring cats"), have vocal cords that are square-shaped as opposed to the triangle-shaped cords of other [[felid]]s; this allows them to produce a louder call with less lung pressure.<ref name="Wessiengruber"/> The elasticity of the larynx and the length of the [[vocal tract]] affect the formant or resonance of a sound. In big cats and some male deer, specialized musculature and ligaments pull the larynx deeper in the vocal tract when roaring, lowering the vocal tract resonance.<ref name="Frey"/> [[File:Red deer 2009.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Red deer]] stag roaring]] {{sound|filename=DM550106 CervusElaphus Slovakia hill Volovec.ogg|title=Red deer roar|description=Sound of red deer roar}} Other species have evolved internal inflatable air spaces connected to the vocal tract, which play a role in [[vocal resonance]]. The male [[Mongolian gazelle]] and [[musk ox]] possess an air space (paired and two-chambered in the former) attached to the larynx,<ref name="Frey"/> while bears have such spaces connected to the [[pharynx]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Weissengruber, G. E. |author2=Forstenpointner, G. |author3=Kübber-Heiss, A. |author4=Riedelberger, K. |author5=Schwammer, H. |author6=Ganzberger, K. |year=2001|title=Occurrence and structure of epipharyngeal pouches in bears (Ursidae)|journal=Journal of Anatomy|volume=198|issue=3|pages=309–14|pmid=11322723|pmc=1468220|doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2001.19830309.x}}</ref><ref name="Frey"/> Male howler monkeys have an unpaired rostroventral laryngeal air sac within the hyoid bulla (extension of the [[hyoid bone]]) and a pair of ventral laryngeal air spaces outside.<ref name="Kelemen">{{cite journal|author=Kelemen, G.|author2= Sade, J.|year=1960|title=The vocal organ of the Howling monkey (''Alouatta palliata'')|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=107|issue=2|pages=123–140|doi=10.1002/jmor.1051070202|pmid=13752246|bibcode= 1960JMorp.107..123K|s2cid= 30539292}}</ref> The hammer-headed bat has a pouch in the [[Palatine bone|palatine]] that connects to an enlarged [[nasopharynx]] region, in addition to paired cheek pouches which extend to the [[rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]].<ref name="Frey"/> Elephants possess a pharyngeal pouch associated with their larynx and hyoid apparatus, and their roars can also be modified by the nostrils in their trunks.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-mammal|title=Elephant|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128014606/https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-mammal|archive-date=28 November 2016}}</ref> Male [[elephant seal]]s and [[saiga antelope]]s have an enlarged and inflated [[proboscis]], which also affects resonance. Saiga nevertheless roar with their mouths closed and produce a "nasal roar".<ref name="Frey"/>
The structure of the hyoid bone can play a role in an animal's ability to roar. The hyoid of the big cats is less ossified and more flexible than in other cats. The [[snow leopard]] also has this property, but cannot roar, as its shorter vocal folds provide little resistance to airflow.<ref name="Wessiengruber"/><ref name="Walker">{{cite book |last=Nowak |first=Ronald M. |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |url=https://archive.org/details/walkersmammalsof0002nowa |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-8018-5789-9}}</ref> In howler monkeys, the hyoid bone is relatively large and cup-shaped, contributing to the depth and resonance of the call.<ref name="Kelemen"/> Though usually airborne, some roars are emitted underwater, as in the case of the male [[harbor seal]].<ref name="Frey"/>
==Biological function== In some species, roars evolved due to [[sexual selection]], and only one sex roars.<ref name="Frey"/> For example, in [[gorilla]]s only the adult male (silverback) has a larynx large enough and vocal cords lengthened enough to produce a full roar.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRTniKE2liYC&q=gorilla+larynx+roar&pg=PA161|title=Sexual Selection and the Origins of Human Mating Systems|isbn=9780191569739|access-date=28 September 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001214013/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VRTniKE2liYC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=gorilla+larynx+roar&source=bl&ots=ecG04fRM5c&sig=dsgGKEMGqrjkMAVoLHDFeSmxdBs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFwsXqq7LPAhWJAsAKHRI7AB8Q6AEIOTAG#v=onepage&q=gorilla%20larynx%20roar&f=false|archive-date=1 October 2016|last1=Dixson|first1=Alan F.|date=15 May 2009|publisher=OUP Oxford }}</ref> Nonetheless, in other species both sexes can produce these vocalizations. In lions, where both sexes roar, the vocalization plays a role in social spacing and territorial defense. The roars ward off other lions from mistakenly entering another lion's territory. The roar of a lion is audible for up to five miles in human hearing and probably further for lions.<ref name="SunquistSunquist2002">{{cite book|author1=Mel Sunquist|author2=Fiona Sunquist|title=Wild Cats of the World|url=https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq|url-access=registration|date=15 August 2002|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-77999-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/wildcatsofworld00sunq/page/294 294]}}</ref><ref name="Rudnai2012">{{cite book|author=J.A. Rudnai|title=The Social Life of the Lion: A study of the behaviour of wild lions (Panthera leo massaica [Newmann]) in the Nairobi National Park, Kenya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ja7nCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA55|date=6 December 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-011-7140-3|pages=55–9|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215101934/https://books.google.com/books?id=ja7nCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA55|archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="Estes1991">{{cite book|author=Richard Estes|title=The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-08085-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/374 374]}}</ref>
==In popular culture== [[File:Metro Goldwyn Mayer 1928 Jackie the Lion intro.webm|thumb|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer intro from 1928 to 1956]] The lion's roar is familiar to many through [[Leo the Lion (MGM)|Leo the Lion]], the iconic [[logo]] seen during the opening sequence of [[film]]s published by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Leo's current roar, recreated by [[Mark Mangini]] in 1982 and redone in 1994 and 1995, consists of tiger growls instead of actual lion roars. As Mangini later stated, "lions don't make that kind of ferocious noises [sic], and the logo needed to be ferocious and majestic".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navhindtimes.in/sound-helps-filmmakers-achieve-narrative-value-for-their-films/ |title='Sound helps filmmakers achieve narrative value for their films' |work=The Navhind Times |date=23 November 2015 |access-date=2017-07-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831082929/http://www.navhindtimes.in/sound-helps-filmmakers-achieve-narrative-value-for-their-films/ |archive-date=2017-08-31 }}</ref>
==See also== * [[Animal language]] * [[Growling]] * [[Howling]] * [[Rumble (noise)]] * [[Snarl]]
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Wiktionary|roar}} * Eklund, Robert, Gustav Peters, Gopal Ananthakrishnan & Evans Mabiza. 2011. [http://roberteklund.info/pdf/Eklund_et_al_2011_LionRoars.pdf An acoustic analysis of lion roars. I: Data collection and spectrogram and waveform analyses]. In: Quarterly Progress and Status Report TMH-QPSR, Volume 51, 2011. Proceedings from Fonetik 2011. Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 8–10 June 2010, pp. 1–4. Download PDF from http://roberteklund.info. * Ananthakrishnan, Gopal, Robert Eklund, Gustav Peters, Gopal & Evans Mabiza. 2011. [http://roberteklund.info/pdf/Ananthakrishnan_et_al_2011_LionRoars.pdf An acoustic analysis of lion roars. II: Vocal tract characteristics]. In: Quarterly Progress and Status Report TMH-QPSR, Volume 51, 2011. Proceedings from Fonetik 2011. Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 8–10 June 2010, pp. 5–8.Download PDF from http://roberteklund.info.
{{Animal communication}}
[[Category:Animal sounds]] [[Category:Sexual selection]]