Tongue flicking behavior, snakes

We have previously suggested (Halpern and Kubie 1983) that tongue-flicking in snakes can be classified as a sense-seeking behavior, similar to sniffing, ear and eye movements. A major function of tongue-flicking is certainly to collect informa-... 

Halpern, M. and Kubie, J.L. (1983) Snake tongue flicking behavior Clues to vomeronasal system functions. In R.M. Silverstein and D. Muller Schwarze, (Eds.), Chemical Signals III. Plenum Publishing Corp, New York, pp. 45-72. 

Martinez-Marcos, A., Ubeda-Bafl6n, I., and Halpem, M., 2001, Neural substrates for tongue-flicking behavior in snakes,/. Comp. Neurol. 432 75-87. 

Halpern, M., and Kubie, J., 1983, Snake tongue flicking behavior Clues... 

It is well known that the chemical senses play a critical role in the behavior of snakes (Halpern, 1987, 1992 Mason 1992 and Schwenk 1995). Tongue-flicking, a chemosensory behavior pattern unique to snakes and lizards (Gove 1979 Schwenk 1993), serves as the primary vehicle for transfer of chemical substances to the vomeronasal organ (Burghardt and Pruitt 1975 Graves and Halpern 1989 Halpern and Kubie 1980 Kahmann 1932 Wilde 1938). Snakes have well-developed vomeronasal systems and flick their tongues in response to odorants perceived in their environment. 

The tongue flick, therefore, is a questionable behavioral index for evaluating a snake s willingness to pursue prey, and it is not an appropriate index of a snake s prob-... 

Tongue flicking (rapid tongue extrusion) is an integral component of the behavior of all snakes and many lizards (Gove, 1979 Simon, 1983). 

---