Do Turtles Have Ears? Everything About Turtle Hearing

Turtles! They go from the land to the sea, from herbivores to carnivores. But how do they communicate underwater? Most importantly, do turtles have ears to hear sound in water?

Well, to put it simply, turtles do not have visible external ears like humans, but they can still hear with their internal ears. Under their head skin, turtles have an internal ear system with two parts that work together to detect and interpret sounds. And they do hear pretty well underwater.

Now, are you intrigued to know more about turtles and their hearing? You’re in luck! Right in this article, we’ve explored everything you need to know about turtles and their ears. Go through the whole thing now!

Do Turtles Have Ears? (In-depth Explanation)

The short answer is NO. Turtles do not have external ear openings or pinnae (the visible part of the ear) like humans and most mammals do. But it doesn’t mean turtles don’t hear sound at all.

Instead, as supported by research by Nature, what they are equipped with are large “internal” hearing organs or inner ears.

These special ears of theirs are hidden under a very slim “flap” made of skin. It’s known as the cutaneous plate. This skin is similar to the rest of the turtle’s head and blends in with it. Therefore, you can’t see the turtle’s ears unless you know where to look.

The turtle’s internal ear can process vibrations of sounds as nerve impulses. These impulses are relayed to the turtle’s brain. Hence, turtles can hear sounds in their own way.

Structure of Turtles’ Ear:

Key points of a turtle’s ear structure are as follows:

Turtles lack external pinnae (outer ears).
The turtle ear canal leads to an oval window connected to a fluid-filled cavity rather than an air-filled middle ear.
The large mass of fluid and tissue involved allows efficient transmission of low frequencies.
Middle ear bones (columella) direct vibrations from the oval window through the fluid-filled cavity.
Lacking an eardrum, the turtle’s inner ear detects sounds and vibrations via the auditory papilla.
Sounds are then passed to the brain’s auditory center for interpretation.

How Do Turtles Hear Underwater?

The turtle has an ear structure made up of two components that work together to detect and process sound.

The first part is called the middle ear, which contains a tiny bone known as the columella. The second part is known as the inner ear. Here, there is a fluid-filled chamber called the cochlea.

As articulated in a Britannica scientific report, the sound waves from the water travel through the water. Then, it hits the cutaneous plate, vibrates the columella, and reaches the cochlea in the inner ear. As a result, they can process the sound with their brain.

The fun fact is that turtles hear better underwater than on land. This is because water conducts sound better than air. Additionally, the cutaneous plate and an extra layer of fat inside the turtle’s internal ears act as sound conductors in water.

Turtles can also sense changes in water pressure caused by moving objects or waves. This helps them locate food sources or avoid predators. Sea turtles, for example, can hear frequencies between 200 and 1,000 Hz underwater, which are typical of fish swimming or waves crashing.

What Is Turtles’ Hearing Range?

Turtles’ hearing range is limited compared to other animals. As reported by a NOAA Fisheries report, they are particularly sensitive to low-frequency sounds (below 1000 Hz).

The exact distance of how far they can hear the sounds is not officially known. But we can make an informed estimate that they’re surely capable of hearing even low-pitched sounds from 500 to 600 meters away.

These are important for navigation, communication, and detecting predators and prey.

However, they cannot hear high-frequency sounds (above 1000 Hz), such as bird songs or human speech.

How Do Turtles’ Ears Help Them Navigate Deep Underwater?

We’ve already established that turtles have a special capability to detect low-pitched (low-frequency) sounds very well. These low-frequency sounds are important for navigation as well as communication.

So, turtles’ ears do help them navigate deep underwater. Low-frequency sounds can travel farther and penetrate deeper in water than high-frequency sounds. Moreover, low-frequency sounds can also reflect off objects and surfaces, creating echoes.

So, turtles’ ears allow them to receive these low-frequency ambient sounds from their environment, such as waves, currents, or other animals.

Turtles listen to these ambient sounds with their ears and process them with their brains. They compare the intensity and timing of the incoming sound waves with the outgoing sound waves to determine the distance and direction of objects and surfaces.

As such, it can help turtles locate prey and predators. According to the South China Morning Post, turtles’ ears also help them gaze their eyes stably. Therefore, it’s clear that turtles use a combination of hearing and echolocation to navigate deep underwater.

Now, you might wonder how they move around in extreme pressure deep underwater. How do they propel themselves, and do turtles have fins like fish? No, turtles simply have flaps that let them swim and propel into the deepest part of the ocean.

How Do Turtles Protect Their Ears From Water?

Turtles do not have any special mechanism to protect their ears from water. They rely on their cutaneous plate to keep water out of their ear canal.

However, this does not mean that their ears are immune to infections or injuries. Turtles can still get ear problems from bacteria, fungi, parasites, or foreign objects in the water.

Do Turtles’ Internal Ears Differ Between Different Species of Turtles?

Turtles’ hearing organs differ in size between different species of turtles. This is because different species of turtles have different habitats, lifestyles, and evolutionary histories.

Some general differences are depicted for your convenience in the table below:

Species of turtles	Habitat	Hearing organ	Hearing range
Sea turtles	Marine	Large cutaneous plate and thick fat layer.	Better underwater than on land.
Freshwater turtles	Aquatic	Thin cutaneous plate and thin fat layer.	Better on land than underwater.
Terrestrial turtles	Land	Small cutaneous plate and no fat layer.	Worst among all turtles.

Some examples of specific differences are:

Species of turtles	Habitat	Hearing organ	Hearing range
Leatherback sea turtles	Marine	The largest cochlea among all turtles.	Widest hearing range (from 50 to 1600 Hz).
Green sea turtles	Marine	Smallest cochlea among all turtles.	Narrowest hearing range (from 200 to 500 Hz).
Box turtles	Land	The most complex middle ear among all turtles.	Best sound localization ability (the ability to determine the direction of a sound source).
Softshell turtles	Aqua	Simplest middle ear among all turtles.	Worst sound localization ability.

How Do Turtles’ Hearing Organs Differ from Other Animals’ Ears?

Since they are reptiles, turtle’s hearing organs are different from mammals. This reduces their ability to capture and amplify sound waves in the air.

Second, turtles do not have eardrums like most vertebrates do. Instead, they have a single bone (the columella) that connects their cutaneous plate to their inner ear. This simplifies their ear structure but also limits their hearing range.

Check out the comparisons below to better understand their ear structure.

Animal	External ear	Eardrum	Ossicles	Cochlea	Hearing range
Turtle	No	No	2	Straight	Below 1,000 Hz
Human	Yes	Yes	3	Spiral	20-20,000 Hz
Dog	Yes	Yes	3	Spiral	40-60,000 Hz
Bird	No	Yes	1	Coiled	100-12,000 Hz
Lizard	No	Yes	1	Straight	50-2,000 Hz
Snake	No	No	1	Straight	Below 1,000 Hz

As you can see, a turtle’s hearing organs are more similar to those of other reptiles, such as snakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Now, in this subsection, let’s check out some questions that might pop up in your mind:

1. How many bones do turtles have in their ears?

Turtles have 3 bones in their ears: the stapes, the columella, and the extra columella.

The stapes is a small bone that connects the middle ear to the inner ear. The columella and the extra columella are two thin bones that extend from the stapes to the cutaneous plate, which is a flap of skin that covers the ear opening.

2. Can turtles hear and communicate with each other with their internal ears underwater?

Yes, turtles can hear and communicate with each other with their internal ears underwater. Turtles use low-frequency sounds underwater to accomplish that.

3. Do turtles hear better than tortoises with their internal ears?

No, turtles do not hear better than tortoises with their internal ears. Turtles have better hearing underwater than on land. On the other hand, tortoises have better hearing on land than underwater.

Both turtles and tortoises have similar internal ear structures, but they have different adaptations for hearing in different environments.

Final Words

In summary, we think it’s pretty clear now that turtles DO NOT have external ears that other animals do. But they do have internal ears that are covered by a thin flap of skin. They can hear sounds, but their hearing range is limited. Also, they hear better underwater than on land.

So, we think at this point, you’ll pretty much agree that turtle ears are fascinating organs. Needless to say, the ears of the turtles reveal a lot about these creatures and their livelihood for sure.

Want to learn more about turtles? Browse other pages of this website to find out more about turtle anatomy and physiology. We promise you’ll be amazed!