This Song Defies Evolution

While many creatures create structured music – shall we say, songs? – it was thought that only man makes use of objects in the environment to get specific tone qualities. In other words, it was thought only man makes musical instruments. That claim has now been challenged by a frog!

Borneo’s tree-hole frog is nowhere close to man on the evolutionary chart. Research shows that this frog searches out specific tree-holes filled with water. It is from such holes that the frog sits in the water and sings its song to attract females. Of course, these cavities and the amount of water in them vary from tree to tree, providing differing resonances from hole to hole. To deal with this, the frogs have been observed raising and lowering their pitch until they get a resonance. Once they find resonance, they begin singing in earnest. To test this, researchers placed a frog inside a pipe where they could change the water level, thus changing the resonance pitch. Every time they changed the water level, the frog would search for and find the new resonance pitch.

Evolutionary theory would never predict that a frog would learn how to use something in its environment as a musical instrument. However, the Bible says that music is a gift from our Creator, Who can give it to any creature He wants.

1 Chronicles 16:42a
“And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God.”

Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for the gift of music. Help me to use music to rejoice in Your salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ref: Science News, 12/7/02, p. 356, S. Milius, “Frogs Play Tree.” Photo: Bornean Tree-Hold Frog by Arshiya Urveeja Bose CCA 2.0 (Wikipedia)