The way these geckos can pick each up each others senses are by a organ found at the roof of their mouth called a Jacobson's organ. The geckos when venturing into a new terrain, will often lick the surface that they are climbing on, picking up any chemical traces of passing geckos looking for mates or making its territory (Black). When their tongue licks a surface the chemicals on the surface are brought to the Jacobson's organ where it recognizes certain pheromones given off by other geckos.
Black, Adam. Crested Geckos. Neptune City: T.F.H. Publications, 2005. Print
Pedram :]. Windowlicker. 2010. Photograph web 19 April 2011. http://www.flickr.com/photos/multiphrenic/4258118386/
I would like to see one of these male vs. male gecko battles hah. It is interesting geckos use their tongue to pick up chemical signals. I wonder if this is similar to what snake are doing with when they constantly flick their tongues on the air. Pheromones seems to be important signals in nature. I wonder how much people use these when making instinctual decisions. I would think that all of the scented lotions, body wash and cologne we use would block some of the bodies ability to detect these natural signals.
ReplyDeleteThats a good thought gregg. I agree that a lot of the scented cosmetics actually create a disadvantage to the pheromones. I forget where i read it but i remember hearing that males use this as a way to tell if they are attracted to a women. Not only does this work for animals but i think humans have this ability too. It would be interesting to see what everyone truly smells like without the scented products in the world. Maybe everyone would have a specific scent for their mood just like a mood ring maybe?
ReplyDeleteHow do the gecko mark it's territory? I think rob showed us a video on pheromones and women smelling the t-shirts or something....I personally don't wear antiperspirant just deoderant because I don't want to block my sweat from coming out. I know people all smell different and you can tell when someone is detoxing or has a foul odor. I don't think this is natural for humans I think our smell is pleasant if we eat a good diet and aren't very stresed out. It would make sense for the survival of the species if men and women chose a mate due to pheromones maybe they could instintually tell how healthy a mate is by their smell thus maximizing the chance of fit offspring! Why does the gecko use its tongue as its primary means of sensing and not smell?
ReplyDeleteWhen geckos lick surfaces for scents it is equalivalent to a snake flickering its tongue into the air. And kara, the geckos while walking have a spot near the rear legs that have pores, that release the pheromones.
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