allomark

English

Etymology

From allo- +‎ mark.

Verb

allomark (third-person singular simple present allomarks, present participle allomarking, simple past and past participle allomarked)

1. (zoology) To scent mark onto the body of a individual of the same species.
   • 1985 August 15, Social Odours in Mammals: Volume II (Oxford Science Publications)‎^[1]:

     […] dholes, Cuon alpinus, may allomark from a handstand.

   • 1988, Turner, Dennis C., The Domestic Cat : the Biology of its Behaviour‎^[2]:

     Cats allomark (mark each other) by rubbing the cheek and perioral regions against each other. The initiator of such a rubbing interaction may thereby deposit scent on the recipient (and/or pick it up).

   • 1989, Gittleman, John L, Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution‎^[3]:

     The frequency with which dwarf mongooses allomark before, during, and after estrus in the dominant female.

   • 2005, Nowak, Ronald M, Walker's carnivores of the world‎^[4]:

     Two types of allomarking have been distinguished: sequential allomarking, whereby a badger marks the flank or rump of another individual, and mutual allomarking, in which both badgers press their subcaudal glands together (probably thereby swapping the bacterial communities that determine the nuances of their olfactory signature).