Intra-species recognition is the recognition by a member of an animal

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of a

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

(another member of the same species). In many species, such recognition is necessary for procreation. Different species may employ different methods, but all of them are based on one or more

sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditio ...

s. The recognition may happen by the chemical signature ( smell), by having a distinctive shape or color (

sight Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual percept ...

), by emitting certain sounds (

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is auditory sci ...

), or even by behaviour patterns. Often a combination of these is used. Among

human being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

s, the sense of sight is usually in charge of recognizing other members of the same species, with maybe the subconscious help of smell. In particular, the human

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

has a disproportionate amount of processing power dedicated to finely analyze the features of a human face. This is why most humans are able to distinguish human beings from one other (barring

look-alike A look-alike, or double, is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of Family resemblance (anthropology), family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individua ...

s), and a human being from a similar species like some anthropomorphic

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found global ...

, with only a quick glance. Some intra-species recognition is learned, for example in

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

, known as imprinting. Intra-species recognition has been hypothesised as an explanation for the bizarre and varied structures found in

dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

, as it drives rapid evolution without a specific direction. However, this has raised criticism and the prevelance of species recognition in dinosaur evolution is doubted by many, not least because it's a vague concept. Intra-species recognition systems are often subtle. For example, the chiffchaff and the willow warbler appear similar by eye, but their call distinguishes them greatly. Sometimes, intra-species recognition is fallible: in many species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

, males commonly misdirect their

amplexus Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of Mating, mating behavior exhibited by some External fertilization, externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians, Amphipoda, amphipods, and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his fro ...

(mounting) to other species or even inanimate objects. '' Heliconius charithonia'' displays intra-species recognition by roosting with conspecifics. They do this with the help of UV rhodopsins in the eye that help them distinguish between ultraviolet yellow pigments and regular yellow pigments. They have also been known to emit chemical cues to recognize members of their own species.Sacledo, Christian (2010).
Environmental Elements Involved in Communal Roosting in Heliconius Butterflies (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae)
" Entomological Society of America 39 (3): 907–11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intra-Species Recognition Reproduction

See also

References