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I had a caiman c. crocodilus a little while back and have never been able to find an answer to some behavior he exhibted. When relaxing/sun bathing and exploring his enclosure, his throat would inflate and deflate rapidly, it looked to be too rapid to be breathing when relaxing, and I have always wondered what he has doing. Anyone have any answers? Or is this behavior yet another yet to be discovered part of herpetology/herpetoculture?

Any ideas/comments would be appreciated. Thanks

By expanding and contracting their throats, crocodilians (all of them) draw air (and thus gas and solid air particles) into their nasal passages and past their olfactory sensory organs and back out and are able to continuously smell for possible danger without having to actually breathe.
I hope this answers your question.

Thanks so much for your excellent, fast response! One more question, are anurans using that same strategy when they expand and contract their throats?

Thanks in response

>>By expanding and contracting their throats, crocodilians (all of them) draw air (and thus gas and solid air particles) into their nasal passages and past their olfactory sensory organs and back out and are able to continuously smell for possible danger without having to actually breathe.
>> I hope this answers your question.

If I am not mistaken most if not all of lizard and even frog and toad species do this,.. but also many of the same lizard and frog species' males display an enlargened and decorative throat for mating purposes to attract females. But the repetative "pumping" of the throat muscles is the continuous smelling function.

Thanks

>>If I am not mistaken most if not all of lizard and even frog and toad species do this,.. but also many of the same lizard and frog species' males display an enlargened and decorative throat for mating purposes to attract females. But the repetative "pumping" of the throat muscles is the continuous smelling function.

As far as anurans go, the gular fluttering that you likely have observed is used primarily for respiration. Anurans use both lungs and skin as surfaces for gas exchange, and the mouth is lined with numerous capillaries where gas exchange is possible. If you watch a frog for a while, you will notice a constant steady gular (throat) pumping action which is accomplished with the nares open, and the glottis closed, thereby pumping air into and out of the buccal (mouth) cavity. During this action, the lungs are filled with air, and as the carbon dioxide concentration increases, the glottis will eventually open to allow for the movement of these gases to flow from the lungs and then into the buccal cavity and back out of the nares, and fresh air is brought back into the lungs. This is possible by an exaggerated gular flutter (usually a single flex upward) which forces air back into the lungs, the glottis then closes, and the frog resumes the constant gular pumping action that it uses for cutaneous respiration. I believe this is what you may have been referring to, however as mentioned below, reproductive behaviors often employ the use of the gular region as well. Hope this helps.