Behavior: Dance Movements 31 



According to Zoth (31 p. 149) the sense of sight and es- 

 pecially the sense of smell of the dancer "seem to be keenly 

 developed; one can seldom remain for some time near the 

 cage without one or another of the animals growing lively, 

 looking out of the nest, and beginning to sniff around in the 

 air (windet). They also seem to have strongly developed 

 cutaneous sensitiveness, and a considerable amount of 

 curiosity, if one may call it such, in common with their 

 cousin, the white mouse." I shall reserve what I have 

 to say concerning the sense of sight for later chapters. 

 As for the sense of smell and the cutaneous sensitive- 

 ness, Zoth is undoubtedly right in inferring from the 

 behavior of the animal that it is sensitive to certain odors 

 and to changes in temperature. One of the most notice- 

 able and characteristic activities of the dancer is its 

 sniffing. Frequently in the midst of its dancing it stops 

 suddenly, raises its head so that the nose is pointed 

 upward, as in the case of one of the mice of the frontis- 

 piece, and remains in that position for a second or two, as 

 if sniffing the air. 



The restlessness, the varied and almost incessant move- 

 ments, and the peculiar excitability of the dancer have re- 

 peatedly suggested to casual observers the question, why 

 does it move about in that aimless, useless fashion? To 

 this query Rawitz has replied that the lack of certain senses 

 compels the animal to strive through varied movements to 

 use to the greatest advantage those senses which it does pos- 

 sess. In Rawitz's opinion the lack of hearing and orienta- 

 tion is compensated for by the continuous use of sight and 

 smell. The mouse runs about rapidly, moves its head from 

 side to side, and sniffs the air, in order that it may see and 

 smell as much as possible. In support of this interpretation 

 of the restlessness of the dancer, Rawitz states that he once 



