FLORIDA, USA — The alligator is one of Florida's most notorious, native predators and can often show up on golf courses, highways, and even your backyard and pool. While not typically an immediate threat to humans, the scaly behemoths can be a danger to dogs and other small pets, especially near bodies of water.
Scientists have known alligators can see well while underwater, thanks to a special membrane, but new research shows the reptiles have even more tools to navigate beneath the water's surface than originally thought.
Last week, the University of Georgia's Coastal Ecology Lab said new research released by Kirksville College Osteopathic Medicine provided evidence that shows alligators have "specialized ears" that allow them to hear well on land and under water. While it doesn't mean gators can hear under water to the same level they can on land, research points to their heightened ability compared to other animals.
An alligator's ear is located almost directly behind the eye and is covered by an earflap to keep water out.
Scientists at Kirksville College dissected the ears of nine alligators and found specialized cartilage inside. This unique cartilage, coupled with the "tympanic," aka inner-ear muscles, allows alligators to adjust the "tympanic membrane" or eardrum.
This means an alligator can specifically tune their hearing to best serve their needs on land and underwater by adjusting the tension in their eardrum. Additionally, researchers said they believe this ability is automatic and already a part of an alligator's "submergence reflex," meaning it happens immediately whenever the reptile goes underwater.
Alligators are considered threatened and are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. This is due to gators' similarities to the more endangered American crocodile. However, people who are concerned about an alligator can call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.
