Does sociality imply a complex vocal communication system? A case study for <i>Fukomys micklemi</i> (Bathyergidae, Rodentia)

African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) display different levels of sociality, ranging from solitary to eusocial. To integrate individuals into a social group, communication is necessary. In this study, we examined vocalizations of a social bathyergid, <i>Fukomys micklemi</i>, in order to investigate the relationship between sociality and communication. Because of its social organization and subterranean lifestyle, we expected this species to have an extensive vocal repertoire. Fifteen different adult specific call-types and four juvenile specific call-types could be recognized, similar to those in other social species. A new call-category, linked to submissive behaviour, is described. These submissive calls were exclusively observed in males, indicating their subordinance. The vocal repertoire of <i>F. micklemi</i> was compared with published results on vocalizations in other subterranean rodents, both in social and solitary species. This comparison confirmed the observation that the vocal repertoire of social species is not only more extensive, but also more diverse than that of solitary species.非洲鼹形鼠隶属于滨鼠科（Bathyergidae），展现出不同层级的社会性，从独居状态延伸至真社会性（eusocial）。若要将个体整合进社会群体，通讯交流是必不可少的前提。本研究针对一种社会性滨鼠科动物——米氏福鼢鼠（*Fukomys micklemi*）的发声行为展开调查，旨在探究社会性与通讯之间的关联。鉴于该物种的社会组织结构与地下穴居的生活习性，我们推测其拥有丰富多样的发声曲目库。本次研究共识别出15种成体专属鸣唱类型与4种幼体专属鸣唱类型，这一特征与其他社会性物种的鸣唱模式相似。本研究还描述了一种全新的与顺从行为相关的鸣唱类别，此类顺从性鸣唱仅在雄性个体中被观测到，暗示了雄性的从属地位。研究人员将米氏福鼢鼠（*F. micklemi*）的发声曲目库，与已发表的其他地下啮齿类（涵盖社会性与独居物种）的发声研究结果进行了对比。该对比验证了此前的观测结论：社会性物种的发声曲目库不仅比独居物种更为丰富，其多样性也显著更高。