Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 3 pp 87–103Cite as

Flehmen Behavior and Vomeronasal Organ Function

  • Chapter

Abstract

The flehmen or lip-curl behavior displayed by males of most ungulate and felid species is a prominent, but poorly understood, aspect of sociosexual behavior. The behavior is sexually dimorphic in that it is seen much more frequently in males than females during sexual encounters. Also it appears to be under gonadal androgen control since it occurs most frequently during the rutting season and castration reduces the occurrence of flehmen. Males typically display the behavior following olfactory investigation of the anogenital area or freshly voided urine of females. Most theories, and the experimental information available regarding flehmen, have related the behavior to the role of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in chemosensory detection of estrus.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Beauchamp, G. K., Wellington, J. L., Wysocki, C. J., Brand, J. G., Kubie, J. L., and Smith, A. B. III., 1980, Chemical communication in the guinea pig: urinary components of low volatility and their access to the vomeronasal organ. pp. 327–339. In Müller-Schwarze, D. and Silverstein, R. M. (Eds.) “Chemical Signals Vertebrates and Aquatic Invertebrates,” New York, Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broom, R., 1915, On the organ of Jacobson and its relations in the “Insectivora:” Part I. Tupaia and Gymnura. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 14: 157–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burghardt, G. M., 1980, Behavioral and stimulus correlates of vomeronasal functioning in reptiles: feeding, grouping, sex and tongue use. pp. 275–301. In Müller-Schwarze, D. and Silverstein, R. M. (Eds.), “Chemical Signals in Vertebrates and Aquatic Invertebrates,” New York, Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, I. J., 1977, The sexual behaviour of prenatally androgenized ewes observed in the field. J. Reprod. Fert., 49: 311–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coblentz, B. E., 1974, Ecology, behavior and range relationships of the feral goat. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 259 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dagg, A. I., and Taub, A., 1970, Flehmen, Mammalia 34:686–695. Devor, M., 1976, Fiber trajectories of olfactory bulb efferents in the hamster, J. Comp. Neurol. 166: 31–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emery, D. E. and Sachs, B. D., 1976, Copulatory behavior in male rats with lesions in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, Physiol. Behay. 17: 803–806.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estes, R. D., 1972, The role of the vomeronasal organ in mammalian reproduction, Mammalia, 36: 315–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaughwiri, M. D., 1979, The occurrence of flehmen in a marsupial-the hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons), Anim. Behay. 27: 1063–1065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geist, V., 1971, “Mountain Sheep: A study in Behavior and Evolution”, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giantonio, G. W., Lund, N. L., and Gerall, A. A., 1970, Effects of diencephalic and rhinencephalic lesions on the male rat’s sexual behavior, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 73: 38–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, W. A., Mogil, L., and Foote, R. H., 1978, Behavioral charactistics of freemartins administered estradiol, estrone, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, Horm. Behay. 10: 71–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, V. S., and Sachs, B. D., 1975, Copulatory behavior in male rats following amygdaloid lesions, Brain. Res. 86: 514–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, B. L., and Jones, T. O. A. C., 1975, Effects of castration on sexual behavior of tropical male goats, Horm. Behay. 6: 247–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, B. L., Haugen, C. M., and Peterson, D. M., 1973, Effects of medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic lesions on mating behavior of male cats, Brain Res. 54: 177–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, B. L., 1974, Medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic area and sociosexual behavior of male dogs: A comparative neuro-physiological analysis. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 86: 328–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heimer, L., and Larsson, K., 1966, Impairment of mating behavior in male rats following lesions in the preoptic-anterior hypothalamic continuum Brain Res. 3: 248–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, V. L., Sis, R. F., Chenoweth, P. J., Klemm, W. R., Sherry, C. J., and Coppock, C. E., 1980, Tongue manipulation of the palate assists estrous detection in the bovine, Theriogenology 13: 353–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, V. L., Sis, R. F., Chenoweth, P. J., Klemm, W. R., and Sherry, C. J., 1981, Structures of the bovine vomeronasal complex and its relationship to the palate: Tongue manipulation Acta. Anat. 110: 48–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knappe, H., 1964, Zur Funktion des Jacobsonschen Organs (organon vomeronasale Jacobsoni). Der Zoologische Garten, 28: 188–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kratzing, J., 1971, The structure of the vomeronasal organ in the sheep, J. Anat., 108: 247–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladewig, J. and Hart, B. L., 1980, Flehmen and vomeronasal organ function in male goats, Physiol. Behay. 24: 1067–1071.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladewig, J., Price, E. O., and Hart, B. L., 1980, Flehmen in male goats: role in sexual behavior, Behay. Neural. Biol. 30: 312–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, G. A., and Davidson, W., 1977, The relationship between sexual and aggressive behaviour, and pituitary and testicular activity during the seasonal sexual cycle of rams, and the influence of photoperiod, J. Reprod. Fert., 49: 267–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lott, D. F., 1981, Sexual behavior and intersexual strategies in American Bison, Z. Tierpsychol. 56: 97–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martys, M., 1977, Das Flehmen der Schweine, Suidae. The flehmen behavior of pigs, Zool. Anz. 199: 433–440.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meredith, M., and O’Connell, R. J., 1979, Efferent control of stimulus access to the hamster vomeronasal organ, J. Physiol. 286: 301–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Meredith, M., Marques, D. M., O’Connell, R. J., and Stern, F. L., 1980, Vomeronasal pump: significance for male hamster sexual behavior, Science 207: 1224–1226.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Schwarze, D., 1979, Flehmen in the context of mammalian urine communication. pp. 85–96. In Ritter, F. J. (Ed.), “Chemical Ecology: Odour Communication in Animals,” Amsterdam, Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parrott, R. F., 1978, Courtship and copulation in prepubertally castrated male sheep (wethers) treated with 1713-estradiol, aromatizable androgens and dihydrotestosterone, Horm. Behay., 11: 20–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powers, J. B., Fields, R. B. and Winans, S. S., 1979, Olfactory and vomeronasal system participation in the male hamsters’ attraction to female vaginal secretions, Physiol. Behay. 22: 77–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt, V., Mutiso, F. M., and Reinhardt, A., 1978, Social behaviour and social relationships between female and male prepubertal bovine calves (Bos indicus), Appl. Anim. Ethol. 4: 43–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scalia, F. and Winans, S. S., 1975, The differential projections of the olfactory bulb and accessory bulb in mammals. J. Comp. Neurol. 161: 31–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K. M., 1930, Das Flehmen. I. Zool. Garten 3: 183–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K. M., 1931, Das Flehmen II. Zool. Garten 4: 349–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K. M., 1932a, Das Flehmen III. Zool. Garten 5: 200–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K. M., 1932b, Das Flehmen Iv. Zool. Garten 5: 287–297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Signoret, J. P., 1975, Influence of the sexual receptivity of a teaser ewe on the mating preference in the ram. Appl Anim.Ethol. 1: 229–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slimp, J. C., Hart, B. L., and Goy, R. W., 1978, Heterosexual, autosexual, and social behavior of adult male rhesus monkeys with medial preoptic-anterior hypothalamic lesions, Brain Res. 142: 105–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wysocki, C. J., 1979, Neurobehavioral evidence for the involvement of the vomeronasal system in mammalian reproduction. Neuroscience Biobehav, Rev. 3: 301–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wysocki, C. J., Wellington, J. L., and Beauchamp, G. K., 1980, Access of urinary nonvolatiles to the mammalian vomeronasal organ, Science 207; 781–783.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiological Sciences School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA

    Benjamin L. Hart

Authors
  1. Benjamin L. Hart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Dietland Müller-Schwarze  & Robert M. Silverstein  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hart, B.L. (1983). Flehmen Behavior and Vomeronasal Organ Function. In: Müller-Schwarze, D., Silverstein, R.M. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9652-0_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9652-0_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9654-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9652-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation