A small fish of barely 12 milimeters produces 140-decibels of sound, the authors of a new study report. That’s as loud as hearing a jet take off nearby. These fascinating fish had to evolve a special apparatus for this type of communication. Loud animals tend to be big. The blue whale is often mentioned for its powerful calls reaching up to 188 decibels. But the actual loudest animal, the sperm whale, can produce sounds of up to 230 decibels (dB). For comparison, rock concerts are between 90 and 120 dB, and sounds over 85 dB are considered harmful to human hearing. But not all loud animals are…