The violet gland or supracaudal gland is a gland located on the upper surface of the tail of certain mammals, including European badgers and canids such as foxes, wolves,[1] and the domestic dog,[2][3][verification needed] as well as the domestic cat.[4] Like many other mammalian secretion glands, the violet gland consists of modified sweat glands and sebaceous glands.
It is used for intra-species signalling, scent marking, and contributes to the strong odor of foxes in particular. Although it secretes a mixture of volatile terpenes similar to those produced by violets (hence the name), the chemicals are produced in much greater quantity than in flowers, and the resulting strong smell can be quite unpleasant.
- ^ L. David Mech; Luigi Boitani (1 October 2010). Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-51698-1.
- ^ Shabadash, S. A.; Zelikina, T. I. (2004). "The Tail Gland of Canids". Biology Bulletin. 31 (4): 367. doi:10.1023/B:BIBU.0000036941.18383.bd.
- ^ Deveaux, Renée Esther, Nachweis verschiedener Drüsentypen und mehrerer Hydroxysteroid-Dehydrogenasen im dorsalen Schwanzorgan (Supracaudal gland in dog & fox). D.V.M. thesis, Veterinary Medical Faculty, Bern University 1984
- ^ Shabadash SA, Zelikina TI (1997). "The caudal gland in the cat is a hepatoid gland" [The caudal gland in the cat is a hepatoid gland]. Izvestiia Akademii Nauk (in Russian) (5): 556–70. PMID 9410272.