Reptiles use surprisingly adaptable acoustic signals to identify individuals, synchronize group behaviour and modify messages when environmental conditions change.
Male gharials produce distinctive underwater pop sequences that appear to encode individual identity, while crocodilian and turtle embryos vocalize from inside their eggs, helping siblings synchronize hatching and nest departure. Tokay geckos confronted with background noise alter the structure and duration of their calls rather than merely increasing volume, demonstrating receiver-oriented adjustment of signalling under degraded communication conditions.
https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gharial-patterns-gecko-uncover-reptiles.html
