Despite the thick, rough, bumpy appearance of alligator skin, it's actually exquisitely sensitive to the slightest change in vibration, which helps it locate prey.
The alligator's sense of touch resides in a series of small, pigmented spots around its face and jaws. These spots contain an impressive collection of touch sensors that are more sensitive to pressure and vibration than human fingertips.
The platypus holds the distinction of being the only mammal with electroreception. Instead of using sight, sound or smell, the platypus uses sensors in its bill to detect the electrical impulses of nearby prey in even the deepest, murkiest waters.
The trigeminal nerves supply sensory stimuli to the brain from the teeth, tongue and face. In the platypus, the fifth pair of nerves, which supplies the muscles of the face, are unusually large, making the sensitivity of the different parts of the bill quite acute.
Red Wood Ants: Use electromagnetism to sense impending earthquakes
Scientists believe red wood ants use electromagnetism to sense impending earthquakes, which is why they are able to evacuate an area ahead of time. And this is a good thing, since the red wood ants in Germany tend to build mounds on active faults, which are fractures in the Earth that violently rupture during an earthquake.
Researchers suspect the ants pick up changing gas emissions or local shifts in the Earth's magnetic field that occur prior to earthquakes.
Elephants: Their trunks and feet generate seismic activity
The elephant is another creature very attuned to vibrational energy. In case you thought that impressive trunk was just a fashion statement, it actually generates seismic activity – as do those huge feet – that allows elephants to communicate with one another on a wide variety of subjects.
Elephants are likely the only large land-dwelling mammals that communicate using seismic signals. So the next time you see an elephant with one leg slightly raised to better ground his other three feet, he's probably on a conference call!
Star Nosed Moles: Their noses are loaded with tens of thousands of touch (not smell) receptors
This mole's nose, strangely enough, is not an organ of smell, but of touch. Surrounding the nose are 22 tiny appendages that house around 100,000 touch receptors. The human hand only has about 17,000 touch fibers, yet the entire star-shaped nose of this little creature is smaller than a human fingertip.
As the mole burrows underground, his tentacles sweep ahead like a high-speed broom. When he swims underwater in search of prey, he exhales air bubbles that rest on objects he is investigating. The bubbles collect odors that allow the mole to follow underwater scent trails.
If you've ever heard the eerily beautiful howl of a wolf in the wild, you're unlikely to forget it. And now research reveals that each wolf develops a vocal pitch that is uniquely his own.
Wolves seem to howl for a variety of reasons -- to claim territory, to help find other members of the pack, and because they just seem to enjoy it. Researchers have observed that wolves wake up rather sluggishly, but after a collective howl, they rush off all motivated to get things done.
Seals: Their whiskers sense vibrations that help them track prey
Seal whiskers track hydrodynamic trails left by passing fish, and researchers have discovered that seals can pick up trails up to 35 seconds after a fish has passed. This means that they use their whiskers as effectively as whales and dolphins use echolocation to track prey.
Even in murky water, seals can extend their vibration-sensitive whiskers to pursue prey as efficiently as if they were guided by sight.
Did you know? Many animals sense when their diet isn't as nutritious as it needs to be.
Creatures as tiny as the white-crowned sparrow and as large as a deer know when their diet is lacking in important nutrients. They crave and go in search of food that provides amino acids their body can't produce or store.
Catfish: Their bodies are covered in taste buds, making them sort of like... swimming tongues
Humans have about 10,000 taste buds, which seems like plenty... until you discover there's an animal whose entire body is covered in taste buds – the catfish. These rather homely creatures named for their feline-like whiskers have more than 100,000 taste buds. And some large catfish can have almost twice that many.
Tiny taste buds, which are actually sensory organs containing cells that detect flavor molecules, are located all over the catfish's body, but primarily on the four sets of whiskers around the mouth. The whiskers, along with the tens of thousands of taste buds along their body, allow the fish to not only taste when dinner is close by, but also pinpoint its exact location.
Earthworms: Their bodies are covered with chemoreceptors
Another critter covered in sensing apparatus is the earthworm. Chemoreceptors that pick up chemical changes and also serve as taste buds cover an earthworm's entire body.
Snakes: They don't speak with forked tongue, but they do smell with it
A snake's forked tongue is an incredibly complex receptor system. When the tongue is flicked out, its receptors detect minuscule chemical particles, which are perceived as scent. When the tongue is retracted into its sheath, the tips fit neatly into the Jacobson's organ, which transmits the chemical information that has been gathered through the tongue to the brain, where the snake can quickly act on it.
A snake's tongue must also detect and analyze information about nearby predators, as well as potential mates.
Rats (and common moles) have independently acting nostrils, which means they smell things similar to the way humans hear things.
Researchers have discovered that when one of a rat's nostrils is covered, it loses the ability to locate where a smell is coming from. This shows that they need both nostrils to locate smells, and also that the nostrils send contrasting signals to the brain, despite the fact they are a mere 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) apart.
Alligators: Their skin is supremely sensitive
Platypus: Their bill senses electrical impulses
Red Wood Ants: Use electromagnetism to sense impending earthquakes
Elephants: Their trunks and feet generate seismic activity
Wolves: Their call is uniquely their own
Seals: Their whiskers sense vibrations that help them track prey
Did you know? Many animals sense when their
Catfish: Their bodies are covered in taste buds, making them sort of like... swimming tongues
Earthworms: Their bodies are covered with chemoreceptors
Snakes: They don't speak with forked tongue,
Rats: They smell in stereo
