THE DOMINANT SENSES I7 



can detect and locate a female giving off her scent from over 

 a mile away. Of course, as will be fully explained in Part II 

 of this book, the reception of these scent particles is carried 

 out by the antennae— those marvellous structures which 

 serve as organs of touch and smell and taste. It is as well to 

 emphasize here that when referring to touching or smelling 

 or hearing in relation to many of the animals to be dealt 

 with, it is not implied that all creatures which respond to, or 

 have the ability to touch or smell or receive sounds, have 

 fingers, noses, and ears. One must at times fall back on 

 words or terms of convenience. (See Plate 6.) 



In the Amphibians and Reptiles there are again variations 

 in respect of the senses on which some groups rely ; and it is 

 not possible to generalize without taking families into con- 

 sideration. A few comments will suffice to make this clearer. 

 The amphibia include frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. 

 In all these sight plays the most important role in feeding 

 behaviour so long as the prey is moving. No amphibian will 

 feed unless it has been attracted to the particular prey by its 

 movement and in some cases smell, and this suggests that 

 these animals do not perceive a clear picture of what is in 

 front of them — it is the movement that stimulates attack. 

 However, the fact that some of the creatures they snap up 

 are rejected quickly certainly points to a sense of taste ; the 

 sense of smell would seem to be present in frogs and toads, 

 while newts are known to smell well in water and probably 

 to some extent on land also. 



It has already been shown that frogs and toads can utter 

 and detect sounds, but newts, being voiceless, have no need 

 to hear. 



In the reptiles the eyes are of quite complicated structure 

 but, as in the amphibians, it would seem that movement is 

 once again an important factor in connection with the feed- 

 ing behaviour, although prey which is still will sometimes 

 be attacked. 



This is explained by the complex roll of the tongue plus 

 Jacobson's organ about which more will be said in due 

 course. The tongues of snakes and lizards act as organs of 

 scent and also as most delicate organs for the perception of 

 vibrations. Vibrations are also picked up through the bones 



