Choral Reef

Remember that fish your crazy friend gave you for Christmas? You know—the bass on a wall plaque that sang whenever you pushed the button? (If you were really lucky, you had the motion-activated one.) Great joke—until the hundredth time it sang “Take Me to the River” as you walked by.

Well, it turns out that singing fish aren’t just tacky wall decorations. Real ones serenade passersby out on the reefs.

Scientists have recorded fish songs underwater off Australia’s coast. Just like birds, different types of fish sing different tunes. (Okay, they might not sound quite as musical to a landlubber’s ear as birds do). But especially at dawn and dusk, those sounds overlap into a chorus.

Scientists claim they’re only beginning to appreciate the complexity of the fishes’ songs, and they hope further study will allow them to use the chorus to monitor the ecosystem’s health in murky waters.

Doubtless, the Creator has hidden many discoveries in nature, like singing fish, to surprise unsuspecting scientists, but one is already clear for those willing to hear it—all creation sings God’s praises, and now we know fish literally join in the chorus (Psalm 148:7).

This article was taken from Answers magazine, July–September, 2018, 25.