Chemoreceptively active compounds in secretions, excretions and tissue extracts of marine mammals.

Semen, prostate glandular extract, perianal glandular secretion, urine, feces and blood from Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, were analyzed chemically by gas chromatography. A fecal sample from a California sea lion, Zalophus californianus, was analyzed similarly. Acids, esters, amino acids, amines, steroids, esters, sugars and alcohols were among the compounds revealed in the analyses. Twenty-two identified compounds can be detected gustatorily in aqueous solutions of sufficient concentration by humans. The chemical compositions of samples from Tursiops are similar to those from humans and other mammals.