Abstract
The role of the vibrissae in cricket predation was examined in northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster). Vibrissal amputation greatly increased kill latencies but had no effect on latency to initiate pursuit or on killing and consummatory behavior. The increased kill latencies resulted from repeated failures to pin the cricket with the forepaws and seemed to reflect disrupted timing of pouncing when the cricket was within 1-3 cm of the mouse. Vibrissal stimulation differs from audition, vision, and olfaction in its contribution to the integration of grasshopper mouse predatory behavior.
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Kemble, E. D. Effects of vibrissal amputation on insect predation by rats and northern grasshopper mice. Unpublished observations, 1981.
Langley, W. M. Personal communication, 1982.
Kemble, E. D., & Lewis, C. Effects of olfactory bulbectomy on cricket predation in the northern grasshopper mouse. Unpublished observations, 1982.
References
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The authors wish to thank William Langley, who supplied the breeding colony of grasshopper mice.
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Kemble, E.D., Lewis, C. Effects of vibrissal amputation on cricket predation in northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster). Bull. Psychon. Soc. 20, 275–276 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334839