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A pair of horns on a male impala Anatomy of an animal's horn. A horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head of various animals that consists of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct from antlers, which are not permanent.
Antlers are considered one of the most exaggerated cases of male secondary sexual traits in the animal kingdom, [10] and grow faster than any other mammal bone. [11] Growth occurs at the tip, and is initially cartilage, which is later replaced by bone tissue. Once the antler has achieved its full size, the velvet is lost and the antler's bone dies.
During the Pleistocene epoch, about 11 other antilocaprid species existed in North America, many with long or spectacularly-twisted horns. [8] Three other genera (Capromeryx, [9] [10] Stockoceros [11] [12] and Tetrameryx [13]) existed when humans entered North America but are now extinct. The pronghorn's closest living relatives are the giraffe ...
It’s a common belief in the world of deer that males have antlers and females don’t, but reindeer serve as the exception. Both male and female reindeer grow antlers. This is a trait that no ...
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Similar to species with horns or antlers, male giraffes use their ossicones as weapons during combat, where they use their heads as clubs: the ossicones add weight and concentrate the force of impact onto a small area, allowing it to deliver heavier blows with higher contact pressure. [4]
Pronghorns are similar to horns in that they have keratinous sheaths covering permanent bone cores; however, these sheaths are deciduous and can be shed like antlers. [4] Very little is known about the development of pronghorns, but they are generally presumed to have evolved independently. [ 4 ]
True horns are found mainly among: Ruminant artiodactyls. Antilocapridae ; Bovidae (cattle, goats, antelopes etc.). Giraffidae: Giraffids have a pair of skin covered bony bumps on their heads, called ossicones. Cervidae: Most deer have antlers, which are not true horns due to lacking a bone core and made of keratin.