Singing lemurs may use a soprano-like trick to project songs

Madagascar's singing lemurs may use a vocal technique similar to that of opera singers to amplify the range and distance of their haunting songs. According to a study published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, these lemurs, known as indris, open their mouths wider when producing higher-pitched notes. This action, called formant tuning, alters the shape of the vocal tract, which in turn modifies the frequencies the sound resonates with, akin to how a longer or shorter tube on a wind instrument changes its tone.

Filippo Carugati, the lead researcher from the University of Turin, explained that this adaptation helps boost the power of the indris' voices, allowing their songs to carry farther in the dense rainforest canopy.