taste & smell
Human's sense of smell and taste are feeble compared to those of many other animals. A keen sense of smell allows animals to find food and mates, as well as stay out of danger. It can stop an animal wandering into a rival's territory or help find its way. Animals also rely heavily on smell and taste to communicate with their environment. (National Museums Scotland)
|
TASTE
The "swimming Tongues"Also known as Catfish, these fish received their nickname the "swimming tongues" because even the smallest at 6 inches is born with about 250,000 taste buds covering its body. From the whiskers, to the fins, back, belly, sides and even the tail, every inch is covered in sensory organs. The taste buds on the body detect food and chemicals nearby, then the taste buds on the tongue check that the food is edible. No fish have more finely honed senses of taste, touch, smell and hearing to keep them attuned to their environment.
|
|
8 tentacles Find dinnerIf you're an octopus, it's pretty easy to find food to curb your hunger when you've got 8 tentacles working to find your favorite krill. An octopus' "arms" are covered in thousands of suckers that not only act to grab hold of prey but to feel and taste along the ocean floor. The video to the left shows an octopus hunting for his next snack and the tactical way he goes about it.
|
tasting with your feetA butterfly's feet have sense organs that are able to taste the sugar in a flower's nectar, allowing them to decided if it's where they wish to stop and eat. They don't have mouths to chew and bite and their long straw like structure known as a proboscis, doesn't have taste buds, therefore they rely on their feet. Female butterflies also use organs on their legs to find the flower upon which they wish to lay their eggs.
|
Smell
|
To humans sense of smell may seem to be the least important of all the five senses. However, smell allows us to gather information about the chemical composition of substances before actually coming into contact with them. Smell is also a very important factor in our sense of taste. Certain types of food would lose their taste if we didn't have the ability to smell. For animals this is a different case. Smell may be the most important senses to some.
|