干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The cordylid lizard Cordylus cordylus, a member of a family in which pheromonal communication was previously unreported, detects conspecific pheromones and responds differently to male and female pheromones. In an arena containing a clean ceramic tile or one marked by a male or female conspecific, males tongue flicked male-labeled and female-labeled tiles more frequently than clean tiles, indicating detection of conspecific stimuli. Females detected female pheromones and tongue flicked at a higher rate in response to female than male pheromones, but tongue flicks elicited by male stimuli were not significantly greater than those elicited by clean tiles. Both sexes are territorial, and each sex is more aggressive to consexuals. Both sexes performed more tongue hicks in response to same-sex than to opposite-sex pheromones. The most likely sources of pheromones detected are secretions of femoral and possibly generation glands. Both occur on the ventral femur where transfer to hard surfaces is facilitated by regular contact.