Development of sound production in Danionella cerebrum

Acoustic signaling, integral to intraspecific communication and reproductive behavior, undergoes notable changes during an animal’s ontogenetic development. The onset and progression of this maturation in fish remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the ontogeny of acoustic communication in the micro glassfish Danionella cerebrum (DC), one of the smallest known vertebrates and an emerging model organism in neuroscience. Adult DC males produce audible clicks that appear in sequences with a repetition rate of 60 or 120 Hz, caused by consecutive unilateral or alternating bilateral compressions, respectively. To investigate the maturation of this ability, we performed long-term sound recordings and morphological studies of the DC sound production apparatus throughout its ontogenetic development. We found that DC start producing clicks during the second month of their lives and continually increase their abundance and structured repetition over the course of the following one to two months. The sound production machinery, including specialized bone and cartilage structures, start to form in male DC after approximately four weeks and prior to full maturation of the reproductive organs. While the DC clicks increase in amplitude with age and body size, click repetition rates of 60 and 120 Hz are stable throughout development. This suggests a fully developed central pattern generator in juvenile males, yet a continued maturation of the drumming apparatus capable of creating louder sounds.