flehmen

n. a distinctive posture of nonhuman animals in which the head is raised and lips curled (from German, “to bare the upper teeth”), often accompanied by a snort or deep inhalation of air. Flehmen serves to deliver chemical cues to the vomeronasal system, an accessory olfactory organ that appears specialized to process species-specific olfactory cues. Flehmen is often seen in male ungulates inspecting female urine to determine if the female is in estrus.

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Psychology term of the day

November 24th 2024

Navane

n. a trade name for thiothixene. See thioxanthene.