Scientists have discovered one of the world's smallest fish capable of producing a sound comparable to a gunshot. According to The Guardian, Danionella cerebrum, which is about the width of a human nail, can be found in Myanmar's streams. The 12-mm transparent fish makes sounds that exceed 140 decibels. Researchers say the species is the loudest fish for its size ever discovered. According to the site, they employed a high-speed camera to explore the mechanism by which fish make sound.
The study on the discovery of the fish was published in the journal PNAS.
Scientists from Charite University in Berlin discovered that the fish possesses a unique sound-producing system that includes drumming cartilage, specialist ribs, and fatigue-resistant muscle. The mechanism enables the Danionella cerebrum to accelerate the drumming cartilage at high speeds and produce quick, loud pulses.
The sound it produces is equal to an ambulance or siren.
"Understanding this extraordinary adaptation expands our knowledge of animal motion and highlights the remarkable diversity of propulsion mechanisms across species, contributing to our broader understanding of evolutionary biology and biomechanics," the study said.
Though there are species that produce loud sounds, what distinguishes Danionella cerebrum is its transparency, which allows scientists to watch the fish's brain in operation and closely observe its behaviour.
According to the BBC, when working with these fish in their lab in Germany, the scientists discovered something unusual.
"People were just walking past the fish tanks, and they could hear these sounds, and were wondering where they were coming from," said Verity Cook, the lead author of the study and a PhD Student at Charite University, told the outlet.
"It turned out that they're coming from the fish themselves. And it's extraordinary, because they're so tiny and so loud," the expert further said.
Much of the sound created by the fish is reflected back into the water, so when humans stand next to the fish tanks, they hear a continual buzzing sound.
The scientists have not determined why the fish generate such loud sounds, but they believe it may assist them navigate murky waters or be an aggressive behaviour employed by males to deter competition.