Abstract
Male South African running frogs (Kassina senegalensis) produce a pronounced frequency modulated (FM) mating call during the breeding season which serves to attract conspecific females. The call typically sweeps upward from 750 to 2250 Hz in 140 ms. Behavioral phonotaxis studies were conducted with 73 female frogs. Results from 475 two‐choice playback discrimination trials, using natural and synthetic mating calls, verify that females can readily discriminate among a variety of FM signals based on sweep direction, duration, rate, and frequency range. Concomitant electrophysiological results indicate that these animals afford an opportune model for neurobehavioral studies of encoding of FM sounds in the vertebrate peripheral and central auditory system. [Work supported by N. I. H. Grant NS‐09244, South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and Animal Communication Research Program, University of the Witwatersrand.]
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