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All mammals have some hair on their skin, even marine mammals like whales, dolphins, and porpoises that appear to be hairless. The skin interfaces with the environment and is the first line of defense from external factors. For example, the skin plays a key role in protecting the body against pathogens [3] and excessive water loss. [4]
Typically mammalian skin consists of collagen fibers arranged in a felt-work pattern, with no preferential fiber orientation. [12] However, the structures of skin in bats, birds, and gliding lizards are very different from those of typical mammalian skin. The structural arrangement of the fibers within bat wing skin enables the bat to act like ...
The skin of an armadillo can glow under ultraviolet light. [20] Most species have rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks. Additional armor covers the top of the head, the upper parts of the limbs, and the tail.
The sea otter has the densest fur of modern mammals. In addition to the glandular skin covered in fur found in most modern mammals, modern and extinct synapsids possess a variety of modified skin coverings, including osteoderms (bony armor embedded in the skin), scutes (protective structures of the dermis often with a horny covering), hair or ...
Mammalian skin is much thicker than that of birds and often has a continuous layer of insulating fat beneath the dermis. In marine mammals, such as whales, or animals that live in very cold regions, such as the polar bears, this is called blubber. Dense coats found in desert endotherms also aid in preventing heat gain such as in the case of the ...
The skin is one of the largest organs of the body. In humans, it accounts for about 12 to 15 percent of total body weight and covers 1.5 to 2 m 2 of surface area. [1] 3D still showing human integumentary system. The skin (integument) is a composite organ, made up of at least two major layers of tissue: the epidermis and the dermis. [2]
Mammal skin: (1) hair, (2) epidermis, (3) sebaceous gland, (4) Arrector pili muscle, (5) dermis, (6) hair follicle, (7) sweat gland. Not labelled, the bottom layer: hypodermis, showing round adipocytes. The integumentary system (skin) is made up of three layers: the outermost epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis. The epidermis is typically ...
All adaptations have a downside: horse legs are great for running on grass, but they cannot scratch their backs; mammals' hair helps temperature, but offers a niche for ectoparasites; the only flying penguins do is under water. Adaptations serving different functions may be mutually destructive. Compromise and makeshift occur widely, not ...