Vomeronasal System

Some animals have sensory systems that humans lack completely, making it difficult for us to even imagine what their perceptual worlds are like. For example, many fish can detect electric fields in the water around them, including, in some cases, electric fields produced by other members of their own species. Other animals have sense organs that detect stimuli outside the ranges that humans can detect, such as insects that can see ultraviolet or polarized light or bats that can hear extremely high frequencies that we call “ultrasound.” The vomeronasal system, or accessory olfactory system, is a sensory system lacking in humans, but [Page 1135]present in most tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, and mammals). Although our understanding of the sense of smell has undergone a revolution in the ...