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Slowworm pits? |
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will
Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1830 |
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@Gemma - thanks for the suggestion. Playing devil's advocate I can see people asking how we know the vaseline didn't get wiped off/interfere with their nostrils/do we need them to wear tiny blindfolds to make it a properly controlled experiment etc etc and then you have the problem of getting the little darlings to feed in an observable setting like a small vivarium and also the question of controlling for size, appetite etc.
I think a good quality scanning electron micrograph would be a start, but you'd need a dead animal for that - oh, and a good quality SEM as well @Caleb - interesting, I hadn't considered that possibility - if analagous to femoral pores then only males should have them - ought to be easy enough to photograph females to see if this is the case. If so, how would they be used in the secretive world of the slowworm, I wonder? |
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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I've read the results of experiments using Vaseline Will, though usually to be fair it is used to cover up much large 'pits' or the nostrils. I do not think they need mini blindfolds lol.
I like Caleb's suggestion, the small size does seem to suggest secretion rather than detection. General males only have femoral pores, in some species of reptiles both species have them present but they are generally larger in the males. I would suggest checking images of males and females is the next logical step in the investigation. You are just going to have to get to the bottom of it Will!
Edited by GemmaJF - 19 Apr 2017 at 1:28pm |
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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There seems to have been study regarding pheromones in Anguis fragilis, for example:
Reading this research or referenced articles might help Will, as at some point someone may have defined or at least speculated on how the scents are deposited.
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will
Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1830 |
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Thanks Gemma, that's very helpful - I wonder if they linked the ability to use pheromones with these pits? - as you say, I'll have to get to the bottom of it or I won't be able to sleep at night!
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