The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way of externally determining the sex of a frog in many species.
The vocal sac is open to the mouth cavity of the frog, with two slits on either side of the tongue. To call, the frog inflates its lungs. The air is then expelled from the lungs, through the larynx, and into the vocal sac. The vibrations of the larynx emits a sound, which resonates within the vocal sac. The resonance causes the sound to be amplified, and allows the call to carry further. Muscles within the body wall force the air back and forth between the lungs and vocal sac. The frogs mouth and nose are kept shut for the duration of the call.
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“The sound of tireless voices is the price we pay for the right to hear the music of our own opinions. But there is also, it seems to me, a moment at which democracy must prove its capacity to act. Every man has a right to be heard; but no man has the right to strangle democracy with a single set of vocal chords.”
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