Did Ja Know?
April 2006
by Sea Grant Staff
Male oyster toadfish emit foghorn-like whistles to attract females during spawning. The decibel level approximates that of a car horn at 5 meters; so loud that the whistles detonated acoustic mines in the ocean during World War II, forcing the U.S. Navy to withdraw the mines from the U.S. seaboard. You can hear the sound at: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_toadfish.
Sources: Oceanic Biological Sounds: Mating Calls From the Sea by Grant Gilmore, Jr. and Sounds of the Sea by William H. Mowbray
