Audiogram of the kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami)
Data from:
Webster, D.B. and Webster, M. (1972) Kangaroo rat auditory thresholds before and after middle ear reduction. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution, 5, 41-53. (Average of four animals)
Heffner, H., and Masterton, R. (1980) Hearing in glires: domestic rabbit, cotton rat, feral house mouse, and kangaroo rat. Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 68, 154-1599. (Two animals)
Absolute thresholds (in dB re 2 µN/m2) for kangaroo rats
|
Frequency (in kHz) |
Thresholds (in dB) |
Average |
||
|
Webster & Webster (4 animals) |
Heffner & Masterton (Animal A) |
Heffner & Masterton (Animal B) |
||
|
.050 |
— |
— |
53 |
53 |
|
.062 |
— |
— |
55 |
55 |
|
.125 |
21 |
— |
— |
21 |
|
.250 |
16 |
— |
— |
16 |
|
.500 |
10 |
— |
— |
10 |
|
1 |
9 |
— |
— |
9 |
|
2 |
10 |
— |
— |
10 |
|
4 |
17 |
— |
— |
17 |
|
8 |
19 |
20 |
8 |
16.5 |
|
16 |
— |
10 |
16 |
13 |
|
32 |
— |
31 |
40 |
35.5 |
|
60 |
— |
— |
70 |
70 |
|
64 |
— |
70 |
— |
70 |
Lowest and highest frequencies audible at sound
pressure levels (SPL) ranging from 30 to 70 dB SPL
|
SPL (in dB) |
Lowest audible frequency (in kHz) |
Highest audible frequency (in kHz) |
|
70 |
— |
62 |
|
60 |
.042 |
52 |
|
50 |
.055 |
43 |
|
40 |
.074 |
35 |
|
30 |
.096 |
27 |
Additional Parameters:
Body weight = 35 g
Functional interaural distance= 90 µs
(Time required for sound to travel around the head from one auditory meatus to the other.)
Comments: Threshold values taken from Webster and Webster,1972; and Heffner & Masterton, 1980 (original data).