Flehmen response

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
  • Flehmen response in a horse
    Flehmen response in a horse
  • Flehmen response in a Sumatran tiger
    Flehmen response in a Sumatran tiger
  • Flehmen response in a tapir
    Flehmen response in a tapir
  • Flehmen response in an elk
    Flehmen response in an elk
  • Flehmen response in a goat
    Flehmen response in a goat
  • Flehmen response in a zebra
    Flehmen response in a zebra

The flehmen response (/ˈfleɪmən/; from German flehmen, to bare the upper teeth, and Upper Saxon German flemmen, to look spiteful), also called the flehmen position, flehmen reaction, flehmen grimace, flehming, or flehmening, is a behavior in which an animal curls back its upper lip exposing its front teeth, inhales with the nostrils usually closed, and then often holds this position for several seconds.[1] It may be performed over a sight or substance of particular interest to the animal, or may be performed with the neck stretched and the head held high in the air.

Flehmen is performed by a wide range of

felids.[1] The behavior facilitates the transfer of pheromones and other scents into the vomeronasal organ
(VNO, or Jacobson's organ) located above the roof of the mouth via a duct which exits just behind the front teeth of the animal.

Etymology

The word originates from the German verb flehmen, to bare the upper teeth. It comes from the Upper Saxon German flemmen, "to look spiteful".[2] The word was introduced in 1930 by Karl Max Schneider, director of the Leipzig zoo and an authority on big cats in captivity.[3][4]

Discovery

The flehmen response was first described by

Ludwig Jacobson in 1813.[5]

Description

This response is characterized by the animal curling back its top lip exposing the front teeth and gums, then inhaling and holding the posture for several seconds.

gustatory
or taste-related investigation. The flehmen response often gives the appearance that the animal is looking spiteful, grimacing, smirking, disgusted, or laughing.

Mechanism

The flehmen response draws air into the

sense organ that is found in many animals. This organ plays a role in the perception of certain scents and pheromones. The vomeronasal organ is named for its closeness to the vomer and nasal bones, and is particularly well developed in animals such as cats and horses. The VNO is found encompassed inside a bony or cartilaginous capsule which opens into the base of the nasal cavity.[6] Animals that exhibit flehmen have a papilla located behind the incisors and ducts which connect the oral cavity to the VNO, with horses being an exception. Horses exhibit flehmen but do not have an incisive duct communication between the nasal and oral cavity because they do not breathe through their mouths; instead, the VNOs connect to the nasal passages by the nasopalatine duct.[7]

Chemical cues

The chemical cue obtained by an animal exhibiting the flehmen response is the presence of a non-volatile

volatile organic compounds (VOCs), non-volatile organic compounds are those carbon compounds that do not participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions or evaporate under normal atmospheric conditions.[8]
The VNO detects non-VOCs, which must have direct contact with the odor source. Sources of non-VOCs relevant to the flehmen response include pheromones and hormones excreted from the genital regions or urine of animals.

Function

An animal may perform the flehmen response when investigating sites of particular interest, or perhaps (more generally) odors or tastes.

Intra-species communication

The primary function of the flehmen response is intra-species communication. By transferring air containing pheromones and other scents to the

organ located between the roof of the mouth and the palate, animals can gather chemical "messages".[9]
These scents tell an animal about other members of their species in some of the following ways:

Inter-species communication

The flehmen response is not limited to intra-species communication. Goats have been tested for their flehmen response to urine from 20 different species, including several non-mammalian species. This study suggests there is a common element in the urine of all animals, an

interspecific pheromone, which elicits flehmen behavior. Specifically, chemical pheromone levels of a modified form of androgen, a sex hormone, were associated with the response in goats.[16]

Mammals exhibiting

A wide range of mammals exhibit flehmen including both predatory and non-predatory species.

The response is perhaps most easily observed in domestic cats and horses; both exhibit a strong flehmen response to odors.

prehensile structure, sometimes called a "finger", at the tips of their trunks.[citation needed
]

Other animals which exhibit the flehmen response include

giant pandas,[29] antelope[9] and hippopotamuses.[30]

References

  1. ^ a b c Weeks, J. W.; Cromwell-Davis, S. L.; Heusner, G. "Preliminary study of the development of the Flehmen response in Equus caballus. 2002. Applied Animal Behavior Science 78(2): 329–35.
  2. ^ "flehmen". Dictionary.com. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4757-9654-4
    .
  4. S2CID 53160386
    .
  5. ^ Jacobson, L. (1813). "Anatomisk Beskrivelse over et nyt Organ i Huusdyrenes Næse". Veterinær=Selskapets Skrifter [in Danish] 2,209–246.
  6. ^ "The Vomeronasal Organ". fsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-02-11.
  7. ^ Briggs, Karen (December 11, 2013). "Equine Sense of Smell". The Horse. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  8. ^ Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Technical Overview. United States Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc2.html#2. Updated April 10, 2012. Accessed May 9, 2012.
  9. ^
    S2CID 26589910
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-323-15450-5
    .
  11. ^ Bland, K. P.; Jubilan, B. M. "Correlation of flehmen by male sheep with female behavior and oestrus". 1987. Animal Behavior 35(3): 735–8
  12. ^ Thompson, K. V. "Flehmen and birth synchrony among female sable antelope, Hippotragus-niger". 1995. Animal Behavior 50: 475–84.
  13. ^ Wolff, J. O. "Breeding strategies, mate choice, and reproductive success in American bison". 1998. Oikos 83(3): 529–44.
  14. ^ a b "Flehmen: 'What's My Horse Doing with His Lip?'" (PDF). Kentucky Equine Research, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  15. S2CID 30345793
    .
  16. ^ Sasada, H.; Kanomata, K.; Fukuoka, T. "Flehmen induction with goats by the urine of twenty animal species". 1988. 11th International Congress on Animal Reproduction and Artificial Insemination, University College Dublin, Irelend, June 26–30, 1988. Volume 4. Brief Communications.
  17. ^ "Flehmening in cats". Catsguru.com. April 9, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Introduction to the social system of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)". August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  19. ^ "Plains Bison Flehmen". Alaskan Alpine Treks.com. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  20. ^ "Enrichment - SCENT". Minnesota Zoo. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  21. ^ "Here's "flehmen" at you!". The Tapir Preservation Fund. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  22. ^ "Lion Flehmen Display". YouTube. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  23. ^ "Caring for pygmy goats". Henry and Joey: Pet Pygmy Goats. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  24. ^ "Llama body language". The Llama Question and Answer Page. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  25. ^ "Sudan White-Eared Kob Animal Profile". Great Migrations - National Geographic Channel. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  26. ^ "Anointing and the flehmen response". Peerless Pinto Hedgehogs. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  27. ^ "Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)". Wildscreen Arkive. Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  28. ^ "Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)". Wildscreen Arkive. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  29. ^ Swaisgood, R. R.; Lindburg, D. G.; White, A. M.; Hemin, Z.; Xiaoping, Z. "Chemical Communication in Giant Pandas" (PDF). Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  30. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1999)18:5<415::AID-ZOO6>3.0.CO;2-Z
    .

Further reading

External links
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