Among dolphins, txistu, such name
2006/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
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Humans are not the only animals we call each other; dolphins also use names to identify, call each other, and 'quote' what is not before.
This capacity has been studied in the mular dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Researchers have found that dolphins communicate through different types of txistus and sounds. Among them, some txistus serve to identify individuals, and researchers have shown that even when one is not involved, the corresponding sound occurs.
Other animals such as monkeys and singing birds also use distinctive sounds. But normally these sounds carry a message, for example they are a call to play or a way to warn of a danger. In the case of dolphins, it seems that they use them to identify individuals, without any other meaning. However, the researchers themselves recognize that they still have much to learn about the ways of communicating animals.
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