SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OP ALBINO RAT 141 



tested for copulation began the act without any licking of the 

 female either in the vaginal or other regions of the body. Hence 

 it is clear that taste played no part in the arousal of the copula- 

 tory response. 



E. Vision, olf action, taste, and vibrissae. Rats 30, 31, 32 

 when both blind and anosmic were, in addition, without vibris- 

 sae. From the age of approximately fifty days the vibrissae 

 were kept cut close to the skin. Both copulated as the records 

 given heretofore indicate without signs of handicap from the 

 loss of vibrissae. 



F. Audition. Less is known concerning the function of audi- 

 tion in the initiation of sexual behavior than concerning the 

 other primary senses. Many examples of the use of vocaliza- 

 tions in the courtship of birds are given by Darwin ('01), but in 

 these cases, it appears that the calls were made by the male for 

 the purpose of arousing the pairing impulse in the female. The 

 mating calls of many of the larger mammals during the rutting 

 season are well known, but these calls are means of locating others 

 of their kind, particularly of the other sex. Craig ('14) reports 

 that doves employ vocalizations in the preliminary courting 

 behavior. One male, however, was observed which omitted 

 the calls entirely for a long period of time. Some observations 

 on the sex behavior of the Poitu jacks reported by Pearl ('13) 

 from the Breeder's Gazette indicate that auditory stimuli may 

 become effectual in arousing sexual excitement. Such devices 

 as " sing-song" whistling, and klickingof the latch were success- 

 fully employed by the keepers. In this case, the response 

 described is without doubt a result of habit formation. Have- 

 lock Ellis (foregoing quotation, p. 44 ff.) is inclined to regard 

 the auditory sense as the least important of the four primary 

 senses for the arousal of sexual desires in man. 



In the case of the rat it is probable from observations at hand 

 that under certain conditions (rats blind and anosmic) the male 

 receives auditory cues from the movement of the female about 

 the cage which serve to guide him in his approach to her. Such 

 sounds as the female makes in her cage movements are not of 

 such distinctive character, however, as would permit of differen- 



