Title | An airborne sex pheromone in snakes |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2012 |
Authors | Shine, R, Mason, RT |
Journal | Biology Letters |
Volume | 8 |
Pagination | 183-185 |
Type of Article | Journal Article |
ISSN | 1744-9561 |
Abstract | Most reptile sex pheromones so far described are lipid molecules too large to diffuse through the air; instead, they are detected via direct contact (tongue-flicking) with another animal's body or substrate-deposited trails, using the vomeronasal system. The only non-lipid pheromone reported in snakes involves courtship termination in red-sided gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis): males that encounter copulatory fluids cease courtship, presumably reflecting the futility of courting an already-mating female. Our field experiments at a communal den in Manitoba show that this pheromone can work via olfaction: courtship is terminated by exposure to airborne scents from mating conspecifics, and does not require direct contact (tongue-flicking). Hence, the sexual behaviour of reptiles can be affected by airborne as well as substrate-bound pheromones. |
URL | <Go to ISI>://WOS:000301304000007 |
DOI | 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0802 |