thigmokinesisn.
/ˌθɪɡmə(ʊ)kʌɪˈniːsɪs//ˌθɪɡmə(ʊ)kɪˈniːsɪs/ Zoology.
A kinesis in which the stimulus is absence of touch or body contact.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > [noun] > kinesis in which contact is absent
thigmokinesis1940
1940 G. S. Fraenkel & D. L. Gunn Orientation of Animals ii. 23 It seems probable, therefore, that the contact is the positive stimulus involved and that its action is inhibitory. In that case, thigmo-kinesis (θίγμα, touch) is the appropriate name for the reaction.
1954 New Biol. 17 49 There is..a low thigmokinesis, causing the animals to assume positions in which as much as possible of their surface is in contact with another surface.
1961 Listener 21 Sept. 439/3 The earwig..displays marked thigmokinesis.
1976 Acta Neurobiol. Exper. XXXVI. 579 Crickets attain their ethological praeferendum of resting site owing to their innate photo- and thigmo-kinesis, which are supplemented by hygrophilia and thermophilia.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
<
n.1940