School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Biol Lett. 2012 Apr 23;8(2):183-5. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0802. Epub 2011 Oct 12.
Most reptile sex pheromones so far described are lipid molecules too large to diffuse through the air; instead, they are detected via direct contact (tongue-flicking) with another animal's body or substrate-deposited trails, using the vomeronasal system. The only non-lipid pheromone reported in snakes involves courtship termination in red-sided gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis): males that encounter copulatory fluids cease courtship, presumably reflecting the futility of courting an already-mating female. Our field experiments at a communal den in Manitoba show that this pheromone can work via olfaction: courtship is terminated by exposure to airborne scents from mating conspecifics, and does not require direct contact (tongue-flicking). Hence, the sexual behaviour of reptiles can be affected by airborne as well as substrate-bound pheromones.
迄今为止所描述的大多数爬行动物性信息素都是太大而无法通过空气扩散的脂质分子；相反，它们是通过使用犁鼻器系统与另一个动物的身体或基质沉积的痕迹进行直接接触（舌舔）来检测到的。在蛇中报告的唯一非脂质信息素涉及红边束带蛇（Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis）中的求偶终止：遇到交配液的雄性会停止求偶，大概反映出求偶已经交配的雌性是徒劳的。我们在马尼托巴省一个公共巢穴的现场实验表明，这种信息素可以通过嗅觉起作用：通过暴露于同种交配者的空气传播气味来终止求偶，并且不需要直接接触（舌舔）。因此，爬行动物的性行为可以受到空气传播和基质结合信息素的影响。
