Jerome Sueur
With so much talk about how Africa's rhinos and Russia's tigers are steadily vanishing from our planet, it's easy to forget that other, smaller species – apple snails, dung beetles, tree frogs – are worthy of attention as well, even if they aren't as charismatic. Some of these creatures are as remarkable as they are obscure. One such animal has just gotten its day in the sun, thanks to a study published in PLoS One. The critter is an insect, known as the “water boatman,” or Micronecta scholtzi. These little guys are the world's loudest animals relative to their body size and can attain volumes up to 99.2 decibels when they sing. That's louder than a subway and about the same volume as a diesel truck. Listen to a quieter version of their calls here.
Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/07/01/meet-the-loudest-animal-in-the-world/#ixzz1R8ZvTchm
