Body hair in mammals is typically thought to have evolved to keep us warm in colder prehistoric periods but in elephants it may do the opposite. A new study contends epidermal hair may have evolved to help the animals keep cool in the hot regions they live in.
Low surface densities of hair can help dissipate heat but the biological and evolutionary significance of sparse skin hair is not well known. The authors of the new paper studied the effects of skin hair densities in Asian and African elephants on thermoregulation in these animals, and concluded that elephant skin hair significantly enhances their capacity to keep cool under different scenarios like higher daytime temperatures or less windy days.
Their research suggests that the dense body hair of furry animals helps with insulation, but as skin hair grows sparser, a tipping point is reached where, for animals such as elephants, skin hair begins to help release heat from the body rather than retain it.
Skin hair on African and Asian elephants. Credit: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047018
According to the authors, elephants have the greatest need for such heat loss to maintain a constant body temperature, since they are large terrestrial mammals that live in hot climates. Their results are the first to suggest that animal hairs could play a role in heat dissipation that could be beneficial to certain animals, like elephants.
Elie Bou-Zeid, corresponding author on the study, says "Sparse hair increases heat dissipation from the skin of elephants and help the largest terrestrial mammal meet its thermoregulation needs."
Citation: Myhrvold CL, Stone HA, Bou-Zeid E (2012) What Is the Use of Elephant Hair? PLoS ONE 7(10): e47018. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047018
- PHYSICAL SCIENCES
- EARTH SCIENCES
- LIFE SCIENCES
- SOCIAL SCIENCES
Subscribe to the newsletter
Stay in touch with the scientific world!
Know Science And Want To Write?
- The Borexino Detector And Its Physics Results
- Olive Oil Destroys Cancer Cells
- Hospitals, Large Stores Could Use Natural Gas Fuel Cells And Get Off The Electrical Grid
- 1840s Shipwreck Leads To Important Beer Science Discovery
- Amazing Metamaterials Mechanical Properties
- Celiac Disease Is Real - Gluten Sensitivity, Not So Much
- War On Doping And The Hypocritical Treatment Of Lance Armstrong
- "Just a sample of one, but my son’s girlfriend who was bipolar had poor reactions to pot. This..."
- "The lady with the longest confirmed human lifespan in the world was Jeanne Calment and she said..."
- "how does this stand up to the principle that similar forms of behavior should be treated consistently..."
- "My son was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. His first manic episode with psychotic features was..."
- "I think it was Penn Jillette who observed that if you applied the anti-doping rules to the Grammys..."
- Molecule found in tree leaves helps female mice combat weight gain
- Old mothers know best: Killer whale study sheds light on the evolution of menopause
- Phthalates may alter hCG pregnancy hormone levels, influence sex development
- New use for Botox: helping children with facial paralysis feel better about their smiles
- Exposure to endocrine disruptors while pregnant affects brain two generations later