14 Animals With A Highly Developed Sense Of Smell
Smell is one of the many senses animals have. In this article, we will present which animals have a highly developed sense of smell. Find out what they are below.
Through the sense of smell, organisms are able to detect and analyze molecules that are transported by the air. They enter through the nasal passages until reaching the olfactory bulb, where odor-receptor proteins are found. From then on, the information will travel to the brain.
Each type of receptor can detect a substance, but the combination of several receptors offers the possibility of detecting a multitude of substances. Animals with a highly developed sense of smell have a large number of genes that encode different receptor proteins.
African elephant
The African elephant ( Loxodonta africana) is the animal with the best sense of smell. This mammal inhabits at least 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, as a migratory animal, it can live in many habitats, from dense forests to beaches.
Currently, the different populations of these animals are fragmented. However, thanks to conservation work, it appears that the number of individuals is increasing.
According to the study mentioned, the African elephant has about 1,948 genes designed to configure olfactory receptors. Perhaps this highly developed sense of smell can be attributed to his long horn, which he uses as a hand. Receptors are not found in the tube, but in the head.
However, it is with her that they look for food and, since she is so far out of sight, they need to have a good sense of smell. On the other hand, perhaps this powerful sense of smell can be related to the good memory of elephants.
rats and mice
Rats and mice are nocturnal rodent mammals. In general, animals with this lifestyle tend to have poor eyesight and a highly developed sense of smell. Perhaps this is because vision is not that important in the dark and they often use other senses such as hearing, thermoception and smell.
Rats have 1,207 olfactory genes and mice have 1,130 genes. In fact, there is a species of African rat ( Cricetomys gambianus) that can be trained to track and find landmines.
cows
Cows are next on the list with a highly developed sense of smell, with 1,186 olfactory genes. They can detect odors from more than 10 kilometers away. This quality is very useful for a herbivorous animal, which needs to detect its predators when they are still far away.
Currently, after domestication about 10,000 years ago from the wild aurochs ( Bos primigenius) , cows are protected by humans. However, in the past, they needed this type of strategy to avoid predation.
horses
Similarly what happens to the cows, the horses also need a good sense of smell, they are prey. These horses have 1,066 olfactory genes.
This sense even allows them to find water when it is not on the surface. This is very useful for desert-dwelling horses as they need a lot of water to survive. In addition, these animals use their sense of smell to make friends and detect mares in heat through urine or manure.
Dog
We’ve heard so much about the dog’s sense of smell that we might have expected it to be at the top of the list. However, dogs have 811 olfactory genes. This may seem small compared to the elephant, but they are more than twice as large as the human, who has only 396 genes.
The peculiarity of dogs is that, despite having fewer genes, their olfactory receptors are incredibly sensitive. For this reason, they are able to differentiate odors so accurately that they can detect early-stage cancer.
guinea pig or guinea pig
Guinea pigs are well-known rodents as pets, but also as an animal model in laboratories. They come from Peru, where they are also part of the local cuisine.
They have 796 olfactory genes and use smell to recognize each other. For this reason, if you have a guinea pig as a pet, it is important not to use soap before touching it, as it may not detect its natural smell.
Other animals with a highly developed sense of smell
Finally, we present a list of other animals with a highly developed sense of smell, from the tallest to the smallest:
- Chinese soft-shelled turtle.
- African clawed frog.
- Human being.
- Chimpanzee.
- Titis monkeys.
- Rabbit.
- Orangutan.
