Bats have a better vocal range than Mariah Carey: study

They can sure Carey a tune.

A new study suggests that bats are the “death metal singers” of the animal kingdom and have a better vocal range than pop singer Mariah Carey.

According to the research, published in PLOS Biology journal, bats can reach a vocal range of 7 octaves — nearly double the range of a normal human being.

“Most mammals have a range of 3-4, and humans about 3. Some human singers can reach a range of 4-5, but they are only very few,” lead author Professor Coen Elemans, of the University of Southern Denmark, said.

“Well-known examples are Mariah Carey, Axl Rose and Prince. It turns out bats surpass this range by using different structures in their larynx.”

Elemans said that these nocturnal animals use high-frequency sounds when communicating with each other.

According to the professor, bats use the same technique that death metal singers do to create sound.

“We identified for the first time what physical structures within the larynx oscillate to make their different vocalizations,” explained Elemans.

“For example, bats can make low-frequency calls, using their so-called ‘false vocal folds’ – like human death metal singers do.”

Death Metal, which is a subgenre of heavy metal, often features guttural vocals and thunderous percussion. In order to accomplish the gruff-sounding noises associated with the music, humans have to oscillate the vocal cords back and forth.

“This makes the vocal folds heavy and therefore they vibrate at very low frequencies,” said author Dr. Jonas Hakansson.

Bats also make a similar sound to throat singers. Throat singing is an ancient tradition practiced by the people of Tuva, a small republic in southern Siberia. These throat singers can produce two or more pitches simultaneously.

The study says that bats use the lower register when flying in and out of large swarms.

“Some seem aggressive, some may be an expression of annoyance, and some may have a very different function. We don’t know yet,” co-author and bat expert Dr. Lasse Jakobsen.

Dr. Jakobsen continued by saying that when a bat is hunting for food, it uses a higher frequency to locate prey. Humans were allegedly once able to hit the higher frequency but lost the ability due to evolution.

“A bat can determine the shape, size and texture of echoing objects within milliseconds,” explained Dr. Jakobsen.

“We see many adaptations in the larynx, that we think are responsible for the bat’s ability to make very high frequency calls very fast, so they can catch insects while flying,” said Dr. Hakansson.