What supplementary role do the male walrus pharyngeal pouches serve beyond vocal displays?
Answer
Providing supplementary flotation
Male walruses possess a pair of elastic pharyngeal pouches situated within their neck region. These pouches can be inflated with air, and their primary acoustical function is to act as resonance chambers, which is essential for generating the loud, bell-like vocalizations used in competitive displays during the winter mating season. However, these inflated air sacs serve a secondary, critical physical purpose as well. By being filled with air, they provide an additional source of buoyancy, which aids the walrus significantly when it is resting in a vertical position while in the water column.
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