I'm still fascinated by the Flehmen response, as shown below in a male gaur. To curl one's lip to sniff at pheromones is 'to flehm', so I've been flehming here at the office. I've been walking up to coworkers and curling my lips to see if I can determine the presence of a food trail or the mood of my coworkers. I don't particularly care if any of the ladies are in estrus, though that might come in handy at home...
I've found that most food trails lead to the break room. I've found that most of my coworkers give off a scent of annoyance and the good ol' 'fight or flight' reaction when they see me flehming. I've also just discovered that humans can't flehm. We have no Flehmen response because we don't have a vomeronasal organ, the very organ used to process the pheromones. Too bad. All that flehming, and all I got out of it is the cold shoulder from my coworkers.
Thanks for the photo Mo Hassan.
May 8, 2009
Flehming Around the Office
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
4 comments:
"I've also just discovered that humans can't flehm."
Try telling that to Elvis. Or Billy Idol. Also, watch someone sniffing last week's milk carton to see if it has gone off or not.
Seriously though, humans do retain a vomeronasal organ at least in the early stages of our development. It appears to disappear as the embryo develops, like our tails and gill folds. However, there is indication that some, or most, adults retain at least a vestigial remnant of the VNO (a small blind pouch in one or both nasal passages).
The functionality of this remnant structure is generally dismissed, although we should keep the in mind the recent reappraisal of the appendix. The importance of pheromones in human communication is still controversial (despite what various magazine ads say). Purportedly, the synchronization of menstrual cycles among women living together is pheromone-based.
So, you're saying I might be able to flehm, vestigially speaking that is. I wouldn't mind a functioning VNO. I'd like better warnings about predators on the prowl, or the timing of certain monthly events...
You're right, Neil; Billy Idol is a serial Flehmer. With Rebel Yell, y'all. More, more, more!
Grandpa Gaur says: "Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!"
Post a Comment