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Not all animals make sounds. At least not sounds that are audible to the human ear. Let’s take a look at which animals we find that do not speak at all or make any noises.
Contents
Which animals make no sounds?
- Jellyfish
- Snails
- Butterflies
- Crabs
- Sharks
- Goldfish
- Sea Urchins
- Worms
- Starfish
- Sea Cucumber
- Sea Anemones
- Sponges
- Clams
- Sea Lilys
- Sea Squirts
- Man O’Wars
These are animals that will not communicate using their vocal box or mouth.
There are some really amazing facts to look into here!
Let’s get to it and see how and why these animals get through the day without any sounds at all.
We also have some animals that are super-quiet predators. They can surprise any animal because they are silent as ninja.
But let’s start by looking at some of the animals that make no sounds through their mouth.
These Are The Animals That Make No Sounds
Let’s start by clarifying that we are talking about sounds made through the animal’s mouth.
I think all animals can produce sounds if we are talking about mechanical sounds as they move, eat, or fight.
But we are strictly talking about calls and other sounds made through the mouth in order to communicate with other animals or to express pain etc.
Let’s take a closer look a some of the silent animals that will not or cannot make sounds.
The Jellyfish is completely silent
There’s a good reason why the jellyfish doesn’t make any sounds.
You probably know this is you like to swim in the ocean. The jellies can be fun to look at but some of them can sting you. So it would be better if they were not completely silent.
But they are.
Jellyfish are very simple creatures and they belong to the list of animals that don’t even have a brain. This also means that they are not capable of producing any form of communication.
They just float around and feed.
Worms are also silent
Worms do not communicate with each other by using sounds.
So in order to communicate they will use touch and taste. They can feel vibrations very well (in the soil) and whenever they feel the earth tremble they will quickly move upwards to the surface. They will do so in order to avoid getting caught by an enemy.
But after all, worms live most of their lives in the grounds or under rocks and stones so why would they not be silent anyway. There’s nobody to talk to underground anyway.
Sea Urchins make no sounds
Sea Urchins don’t communicate with their mouth. In fact, they don’t even have a brain either (just like the jellies).
Sea Urchins are very simple animals which can only move around and feed.
So there is no communication passing through its mouth. The only sound you will hear from this animal is the tiny legs walking on the little pebbles at the bottom of the ocean (or in the aquarium).
Sea Urchins will eat algae off the rocks and they can do so very silently. But you may hear some tiny scratching sounds if you are completely silent around it. That will be the teeth grinding the algae!
Do Fish Make Sounds?
You would think that fish are totally silent in general.
But you would be wrong.
There are actually many types of fish that can utter vocalizations. Your goldfish is not one of them but let’s take a look at some of the fish sounds in the ocean.
According to the marine scientist Shahriman Ghazali from the University of Auckland, all fish can hear and some can also make sounds through the mouth. But they don’t have any vocal cords so they make weird sounds!
Fish sounds are best described as chirps and grunts and they will make these sounds in order to communicate and express dominance, fear, or pain.
Fish will make sounds in order to communicate, mate, or warn other fish of predators.
Actually, the first person to describe fish vocalizations were Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago. Fish can make a drumming-like squeaking sound by vibrating its swim bladder. The other sound it can make sounds more like the sound you get from plastic rubbed on metal.
Biologists have been able to record these sounds with underwater mics. It’s hard to do because many fish are shy and will keep quiet (or swim away) when they see scuba divers so they had to be patient and wait.
Do Animals Have Vocal Cords?
Most mammals have a larynx.
This is a hollow muscular organ used to pass air into the lungs. This is the muscle that holds the vocal cords. It is also called the voice box.
Birds, on the other hand, now have a voice box.
Instead, they have what is called a syrinx. That is the voice organ of birds and it’s very well developed among birds like parrots and crows that sing (and speak) well. They can control this by pressing air through it and some birds can even produce more than one sound at a time.
For many smaller birds, the syrinx is not bigger than 1/3 of an inch (0,8 millimeters).
What type of pet birds make no sounds?
If you are looking for a pet bird that keeps quiet you have several options.
As we just above, birds are wonderful singers and songbirds can even do several sounds at the same time. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have any exceptions.
We also find birds which cannot make any sounds.
- Parakeets
have been observed to often sit quietly. They look like tiny parrots but they are much easier to care for and they are also smaller and definitely quieter. - Canary birds
The Canary birds can definitely sing and they really sing beautifully. But often they will keep quiet and they are a good option if you want an animal that doesn’t make much noise around you.
You will have to choose a female Canary as the males are most known for that beautiful singing.
Other than that, you should expect older birds to make fewer sounds than young birds. As they get older they tend to sit more quietly and relax their syrinx (bird’s voice boxes).
Animals That Can Move Silently (Like Ninjas)
Some animals can make sounds but can also choose to be extremely silent when they have to.
These are often predators of the dark. You will know what’s coming for you if you are hunted by these amazingly effective predators. They can move without a sound!
A good example of this is the owls.
Owls can be super-silent
They can fly over their prey without making any sound at all. This is due to their perfect aerodynamic shape which means that the wind will not make any sound when passing by its wings.
This is especially smart for that owls because they hunt by listening to every sound in the forest.
Their faces are shaped in a way that they can pick up any small sound made in the forest.
Whenever they hunt they will hover over the forest silently and completely undetected. As soon as it picks up any sound it can dive down and catch a mouse or other little creatures.
The Shark is no chatterbox either
Sharks are exceptional hunters and they are also one of the quietest animals at sea.
They have very special scales that enable the water to flow by without making any sound whatsoever. This makes then the super predator of the sea and animals will never know what’s coming when the Shark is approaching.
Because there is almost no friction between the Shark in the water they can swim super fast. This is another benefit for the shark.
Not only can it move super silently – but it can also swim faster than most other fish!
Scientists have actually started those special scales. They have been used as inspiration for spatial swimming suits which gives the swimmer a great advantage.
Which Animal Does Not Have Vocal Cords?
Rabbits
Rabbits actually have no vocal cords. But that does not mean that they are completely silent at all times.
A stressed-out rabbit can make some pretty terrifying grunting sounds that sound like it is in pain. But most of the time it will just sit quietly and do its business.
Rabbits will produce some mechanical sounds from eating carrots etc. but you won’t hear it make any sounds from the mouth.
It’s not possible without the vocal cords.
Giraffes
Giraffes also have no wool coat court and produce no sounds through the mouth.
This is pretty amazing when you think about its size. After all, it is the worlds tallest animal!
Does this mean that the giraffes cannot communicate with each other and with their little ones? No. They can do infrasonic sounds which are sounds inaudible to the human ear.
They are way too low-pitched for the human ear to pick it up.
Biologists have been able to pick up the sounds with microphones and computers. When the computer systems analyzed the sounds they found that the sounds were extremely low-frequency. Low-frequency sounds can travel over big distances which are perfect for warning calls.
They can also do a whistling type of sound in order to call upon their kids.
Snakes
Snakes are another category of animals who did not process vocal cords.
As you probably know, snakes will do a hissing and rattling sound to let you know they are approaching. This hissing sound is not produced through vocal cords.
But as with many rules, there are exceptions.
The Pine Snakes have local chords so they can make several sounds. But most of the time they won’t. They will be quiet and silent just like other snakes and they will not utilize their special ability.
Snails
Snails are as silent as they are slow.
Snails names are also created without vocal cords.
If you hear any sound from the snail it will be the sound of it retracting itself back into its house. Or maybe it is eating and you can it feed on the leaves.
So as you can see these sounds are more mechanical of nature. They do not speak or do any audible sounds with their mouth.
But when was the last time you heard a snail creeping up on you anyway?
Sources: sciencing.com, nature.org