Loudest: The 2mm Lesser Water Boatman creates a 99 dB song by rubbing his penis against his abdomen.
The male lesser water boatman, Micronecta scholtzi, can create mating calls as loud as 99.2 decibels, the equivalent of sitting in the front row of a loud, full-blown orchestra, or standing 15 meters away from a hurtling freight train.
The song is so loud that a person walking along the bank can hear these tiny creatures singing from the bottom of the river.
The male water boatman rubs his penis against the ridged surface of his abdomen, like a wooden spoon against a washboard.
The whole area measures only 50 micrometers across — roughly the width of a human hair.
It is the loudest animal in the world relative to its body size.
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