Аннотация:For human-audible vocalizations (below 20 kHz) of rodents, subterranean lifestyle results in low-frequency calls coupled with low-frequency hearing. For ultrasonic vocalizations (above 20 kHz), the effect of subterranean lifestyle on the acoustics is unknown. This study fills this gap of knowledge, by comparing vocalizations of two closely related species, the surface-dwelling Brandt’s vole Lasiopodomys brandtii (17 pups, 19 adults) and the subterranean mandarin vole L. mandarinus (15 pups, 16 adults). As predicted, the audible calls (AUDs) were substantially higher-frequency in L. brandtii than in L. mandarinus, in either pups or adults. In contrast to AUDs, the ultrasonic calls (USVs) did not differ in frequency variables between species, in either pups or adults. Interspecies differences were found in duration: AUDs were shorter in adult L. brandtii than in adult L. mandarinus, USVs were longer in pup L. brandtii than in pup L. mandarinus, and the low-frequency USVs of adult L. brandtii were longer than low-frequency USVs of adult L. mandarinus. We advance a hypothesis, that shift towards higher-frequency AUDs in L. brandtii compared to L. mandarinus was triggered by the evolutionary emergence of the high-frequency audible alarm call, which is only present in L. brandtii but absent in L. mandarinus. We discuss that USVs may be resistant to these selection pressures as close-distant social signals.