image: Closeup of the head of a male Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta Toadfish are close relatives of midshipman (same family of teleost fish) that also vocalizes to attract females to his nest (there is no evidence of two male morphs in this species). Gulf toadfish build their nests in shallow waters along the southeastern and Gulf coasts of the United States. This image relates to article that appeared in the July 18, 2008, issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS. The study, by A.H. Bass at Cornell University in Ithaca and colleagues, was titled "Evolutionary Origins for Social Vocalization in a Vertebrate Hindbrain-Spinal Compartment." view more
Credit: Photo provided by Margaret A. Marchaterre, Cornell University, via <i>Science</i>-AAAS.