What's The Loudest Animal Relative To Its Size?

The loudest animal relative to its size is the water boatman, a tiny freshwater insect. These insects are smaller than a grain of rice, but they produce sounds reaching up to 99.2 decibels, roughly the same volume as a loud orchestra. For comparison, that’s like hearing a freight train from a distance, all from a tiny insect!

How does it manage this? The water boatman makes this noise by rubbing its penis against the ridged surface of its abdomen, a process called “stridulation.” This is done to attract females for mating. It’s surprising because the sound isn’t made by vocal cords or a large organ. The sound is so loud that humans can hear it while standing by the side of a pond.

Among mammals, howler monkeys can howl at 88db, almost 11db for every kg of it’s weight. Going back into the depths of water again, a pistol shrimp can produce sound at 190dbs. The amount comes to a whopping 3800dbs for every kg.