Everything about Horn Anatomy totally explained
A
horn is a pointed projection of the
skin on the head of various
mammals, consisting of a covering of
horn (
keratin and other
proteins) surrounding a core of living
bone. True horns are found only among the
ruminant artiodactyls, in the families
Antilocapridae (
pronghorn) and
Bovidae (
cattle,
goats,
antelope etc.). These animals have one or occasionally two pairs of horns, which usually have a curved or
spiral shape, often with ridges or fluting. In many species only the males have horns. Horns start to grow soon after birth, and continue to grow throughout the life of the animal (except in
pronghorns, which shed the outer layer annually, but retain the bony core). Similar growths on other parts of the body are not usually called horns, but
spurs,
claws or
hoofs.
Other hornlike growths
The term "horn" is also popularly applied to other hard and pointed features attached to the head of animals in various other families:
- Giraffidae: Giraffes have one or more pairs of bony bumps on their heads. These are covered with furred skin, and although they look as if they ought to have horns on them, they do not.
- Cervidae: Most deer have antlers, which are not true horns. When fully developed antlers are dead bone without a horn or skin covering; they're borne only by adults (usually males) and are shed and regrown each year.
- Rhinocerotidae: The "horns" of rhinoceroses are made of keratin and grow continuously, but don't have a bone core.
- Ceratopsidae: The "horns" of the Triceratops were extensions of its skull bones although debate exists over whether they'd a keratin covering.
- Horned lizards (Phrynosoma): These lizards have horns on their heads which have a hard keratin covering over a bony core, like mammalian horns.
- Monodontidae: Male narwhals have a single long tusk, a modified tooth, which looks like a horn, and is twisted like that of the fictional unicorn.
- Insects: Some insects (such as rhinoceros beetles) have horn-like structures on the head or thorax (or both). These are pointed outgrowths of the hard chitinous exoskeleton. Some (such as stag beetles) have greatly enlarged jaws, also made of chitin.
Many mammal species in various families have
tusks, which often serve the same functions as true horns, but are in fact oversize teeth. These include the
Moschidae (Musk deer, which are ruminants),
Suidae (
Wild Boars),
Proboscidea (
Elephants),
Monodontidae (
Narwhals) and
Odobenidae (
Walruses).
polled animals or
pollards are those of normally-horned (mainly
domesticated) species whose horns have been removed, or which have not grown. In some cases such animals have small horny growths in the skin where their horns would be – these are known as
scurs.
Animal uses of horns
Animals have a variety of uses for horns and antlers, including defending themselves from predators and fighting members of their own species for territory, dominance or
mating priority. In addition, horns may be used to root in the soil or strip bark from trees. In animal
courtship many use horns in displays. For example, the male
blue wildebeest reams the bark and branches of trees to impress the female and lure her into his
territory. Some animals with true horns use them for cooling, the blood vessels in the bony core allowing the horns to function as a
radiator.
Human uses of horns
Use of animal horns is controversial, especially if the animal was specifically hunted for the horn as a
hunting trophy or object of decoration or utility. Some animals are threatened or endangered to reduced populations partially from pressures of such hunting.
Some peoples use bovid horns as
musical instruments, for example the
shofar. These have evolved into
brass instruments in which, unlike the
trumpet, the bore gradually increases in width through most of its length — that's to say, it's
conical rather than
cylindrical. These are called
horns, though made of
metal.
Drinking horns' are bovid horns removed from the bone core, cleaned and polished and used as
drinking vessels. (See also the legend of the
Horn of plenty, or
Cornucopia).
Powder horns were originally bovid horns fitted with lids and carrying straps, used to carry
gunpowder. Powder flasks of any material may be referred to as powder horns.
Antelope horns are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Horn can also refer to
keratin, the material of which a horn is made, sometimes including keratin from other parts of animals, such as hoofs. Horn may be used as a material in tools, furniture and decoration, among other uses. In these applications, horn is valued for its hardness, and it has given rise to the expression
hard as horn. Horn is somewhat
thermoplastic and (like
tortoiseshell) was formerly used for many purposes where
plastic would now be used. Horn may be used to make
glue.
Horn bows are bows made from a combination of horn,
sinew and usually wood. These materials allow more energy to be stored in a short bow than wood would.
Ivory comes from the
teeth of animals, not horns.
"Horn"
buttons are usually made from deer antlers, not true horn.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Horn Anatomy'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://horn__anatomy.totallyexplained.com">Horn (anatomy) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
