High speed video of a California spiny lobster producing sound
California spiny lobsters (Panulirus interruptus) produce sound by rubbing the base of each antenna (plectrum) over an oblong “file” under each eye. Instead of using a typical arthropod mechanism in which a hard pick is dragged over a series of bumps (like crickets), spiny lobsters use “stick-slip”friction between a soft-tissue surface and a macroscopically smooth surface to generate a pulsatile sound. This video shows the punctuated movement that produces their “rasp” sound, solely due to friction between the two surfaces.
