Echolocation in soft-furred tree mice

For decades, well-known echolocating mammals include microbats and toothed whales. Recently, the Chapa soft-furred tree mouse (Typhlomys chapensis) of the rodent family Platacanthomyidae was suggested to echolocate, but not practically evidenced.

Notably, there are three other recognized species in the soft-furred tree mice (Typhlomys), which share similar ecological and morphological traits, suggesting that echolocation may be a general trait within this genus. To test whether the soft-furred tree mice generally have evolved echolocation, we conducted multiple behavioral experiments to assess the performance of different soft-furred tree mouse species in detecting and avoiding obstacles dependent on hearing and examined the anatomical structures of their vocal and hearing apparatus.