Identification of the possible origin of the body target that differentiates play fighting from serious fighting in syrian golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)

✍ Scribed by Sergio M. Pellis; Vivien C. Pellis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 983 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0096-140X
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-2337(1988)14:6<437::aid-ab2480140605>3.0.co;2-q

✦ Synopsis

Play fmtiug in the Syrian Golden hamster Mesockefus uumfus can be distiaguished from serious fmting by the targets attacked m each case. In play fighting, the animals attack and defend the cheeks and cheek pouches, whereas in serious fighting they attack and defend the rump and lower flanks. Since play typically involves the use of behaviors borrowed from other functional contexts, this paper investigates the origin of the cheek target during play fighting. Comparison of resident-intruder serious fighting with awake and anesthetized intruders does not reveal the cheek to be an inhibited target for serious attack. Similarly, analysis of social investigation and ahgrooming, while revealing the ears to be important targets, do not show the cheeks to be targets in these behaviors. Sniffing, ticking, and nibbling of the cheek area appear to occur mainly during sexual encounters by males. This: area, seemingly a sexual target, may be the one utilized during play fighting.

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