Preliminary thoughts on the incidence, structure and function of the mammalian vomeronasal organ

Although the vomeronasal organ is present in most mammals, it is absent in Cetacea, other fully adapted aquatic species and certain Chiroptera and Old World monkeys-except in the foetal stage. Its structure and function have never been fully investigated and this paper is a preliminary report on the morphology of the vomeronasal organ in 26 species of mammalia.