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fur
please note:
- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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{{short description|Soft, thick, hairy coat of a mammal}}{{Redirect2|Furs|Pelt|other uses|Fur (disambiguation)|and|Furs (disambiguation)|and|Pelt (disambiguation)}}File:GrizzlyBearJeanBeaufort.jpg|thumb|300px|Like many mammals, grizzly beargrizzly bearFur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket that keeps the animal warm.ENCYCLOPEDIA,weblink Fur {{!, animal skin|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-10-30|language=en}}The fur of mammals has many uses: protection, sensory purposes, waterproofing, and camouflaging, with the primary usage being thermoregulation.JOURNAL, Dawson, T. J., Webster, K. N., Maloney, S. K., 2014, The fur of mammals in exposed environments; do crypsis and thermal needs necessarily conflict? The polar bear and marsupial koala compared, Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 184, 2, 273â284, 10.1007/s00360-013-0794-8, 24366474, 9481486, The types of hair include{{rp|99}} - the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
- definitive, which may be shed after reaching a certain length;
- vibrissae, which are sensory hairs and are most commonly whiskers;
- pelage, which consists of guard hairs, under-fur, and awn hair;
- spines, which are a type of stiff guard hair used for defense in, for example, porcupines;
- bristles, which are long hairs usually used in visual signals, such as the mane of a lion;
- velli, often called "down fur", which insulates newborn mammals; and
- wool, which is long, soft, and often curly.
Composition
(File:Down Awn and guard hairs of cat 2012 11 13 9203r.JPG|thumb|Down, awn and guard hairs of a domestic tabby cat)The modern mammalian fur arrangement is known to have occurred as far back as docodonts, haramiyidans and eutriconodonts, with specimens of Castorocauda, Megaconus and Spinolestes preserving compound follicles with both guard hair and underfur.Fur may consist of three layers, each with a different type of hair.{{Anchor|down hair|downhair|underfur|DownHair}}Down hair
Down hair (also known as underfur, undercoat, underhair or ground hair) is the bottom{{spaced ndash}}or inner{{spaced ndash}}layer, composed of wavy or curly hairs with no straight portions or sharp points. Down hairs, which are also flat, tend to be the shortest and most numerous in the coat. Thermoregulation is the principal function of the down hair, which insulates a layer of dry air next to the skin.Awn hair
The awn hair can be thought of as a hybrid, bridging the gap between the distinctly different characteristics of down and guard hairs. Awn hairs begin their growth much like guard hairs, but less than halfway to their full length, awn hairs start to grow thin and wavy like down hair. The proximal part of the awn hair assists in thermoregulation (like the down hair), whereas the distal part can shed water (like the guard hair). The awn hair's thin basal portion does not allow the amount of piloerection that the stiffer guard hairs are capable of. Mammals with well-developed down and guard hairs also usually have large numbers of awn hairs, which may even sometimes be the bulk of the visible coat.{{Anchor|GuardHair}}Guard hair
Guard hair (overhairB. J. Teerink. Hair of West European mammals: atlas and identification key. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.) is the topâor outerâlayer of the coat. Guard hairs are longer, generally coarser, and have nearly straight shafts that protrude through the layer of softer down hair. The distal end of the guard hair is the visible layer of most mammal coats. This layer has the most marked pigmentation and gloss, manifesting as coat markings that are adapted for camouflage or display. Guard hair repels water and blocks sunlight, protecting the undercoat and skin in wet or aquatic habitats, and from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Guard hairs can also reduce the severity of cuts or scratches to the skin. Many mammals, such as the domestic dog and cat, have a pilomotor reflex that raises their guard hairs as part of a threat display when agitated.Mammals with reduced fur
(File:Wet Fur - CGI.jpg|thumb|{{center|Computer generated image of wet fur}})Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals; however, several species or breeds have considerably reduced amounts of fur. These are often called "naked"{{fact|date=July 2023}} or "hairless".WEB, Dean, Matthew D, Evolution: How (some) mammals lost their hair,weblink eLife, 22 July 2023,Natural selection
Some mammals naturally have reduced amounts of fur. Some semiaquatic or aquatic mammals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds and hippopotamuses have evolved hairlessness, presumably to reduce resistance through water. The naked mole-rat has evolved hairlessness, perhaps as an adaptation to their subterranean lifestyle. Two of the largest extant terrestrial mammals, the elephant and the rhinoceros, are largely hairless. The hairless bat is mostly hairless but does have short bristly hairs around its neck, on its front toes, and around the throat sac, along with fine hairs on the head and tail membrane. Most hairless animals cannot go in the sun for long periods of time, or stay in the cold for too long.WEB, Thomson, Paul, Cheiromeles torquatus,weblink Animal Diversity Web, 29 October 2013, 2002, Marsupials are born hairless and grow out fur later in development.Humans are the only primate species that have undergone significant hair loss. The hairlessness of humans compared to related species may be due to loss of functionality in the pseudogene KRTHAP1 (which helps produce keratin)JOURNAL, 10.1007/s004390000439, Winter, H., Langbein, L., Krawczak, M., Cooper, D. N., Jave-Suarez, L. F., Rogers, M. A., Praetzel, S., Heidt, P. J., Schweizer, J., Human type I hair keratin pseudogene phihHaA has functional orthologs in the chimpanzee and gorilla: Evidence for recent inactivation of the human gene after the Pan-Homo divergence, Human Genetics, 108, 1, 37â42, 2001, 11214905, 21545865, Although the researchers dated the mutation to 240 000 ya, both the Altai Neandertal and Denisovan peoples possessed the loss-of-function mutation, indicating it is much older. Mutations in the gene HR can lead to complete hair loss, though this is not typical in humans.JOURNAL, Molecular evolution of HR, a gene that regulates the postnatal cycle of the hair follicle, 2011, 10.1038/srep00032, Abbasi, Amir Ali, Scientific Reports, 1, 32, 22355551, 3216519, 2011NatSR...1E..32A,Artificial selection
At times, when a hairless domesticated animal is discovered, usually owing to a naturally occurring genetic mutation, humans may intentionally inbreed those hairless individuals and, after multiple generations, artificially create hairless breeds. There are several breeds of hairless cats, perhaps the most commonly known being the Sphynx cat. Similarly, there are some breeds of hairless dogs. Other examples of artificially selected hairless animals include the hairless guinea-pig, nude mouse, and the hairless rat.Use in clothing
{{See also|Fur trade}}Fur has long served as a source of clothing for humans, including Neanderthals. Historically, it was worn for its insulating quality, with aesthetics becoming a factor over time. Pelts were worn in or out, depending on their characteristics and desired use. Today fur and trim used in garments may be dyed bright colors or to mimic exotic animal patterns, or shorn close like velvet. The term "a fur" may connote a coat, wrap, or shawl.The manufacturing of fur clothing involves obtaining animal pelts where the hair is left on the animal's processed skin. In contrast, making leather involves removing the hair from the hide or pelt and using only the skin. Fur is also used to make felt. A common felt is made from beaver fur and is used in bowler hats, top hats, and high-end cowboy hats.Chamber's journal, Published by Orr and Smith, 1952, p. 200, Original from the University of Michigan.Common furbearers used include fox, rabbit, mink, leopard, beaver, ermine, otter, sable, jaguar, seal, coyote, chinchilla, raccoon, lemur, and possum.File:Buckingham-palace-guard-11279634947G5ru.jpg|The iconic bearskins of the King's Guard at Buckingham Palace are made from the fur of American black bears.File:Carl Eielson.jpg|A seal fur coat worn by Carl Ben Eielson (1897â1929), USAF pilot and Arctic explorerFile:Pelz-Verkaufsstand in Tallinn, Estland.jpg|A fur store in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2019See also
- Angora wool
- Animal coloration
- Cat coat genetics
- Coat (animal)
- Plumage
- Rabbit hair
- Tanning (leather)
- Futfell
- Skinning
References
External links
{{Commons category|Furs}}{{plainlist|AMERICANA, Fur-Bearing Animals, x, 1, NIE, Fur-Bearing Animals, x, 1, }}{{Non-timber forest products|state=expanded}}{{Authority control}}- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "fur" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
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- "fur" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 3:01pm EDT - Wed, May 15 2024
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