What are ossicones on a giraffe used for?
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.
Do female giraffes have ossicones?
Giraffe ‘horns’ are not actually called horns, but ‘ossicones’ and both female and male giraffe have them. Ossicones are formed from ossified (hardened into bone) cartilage and are covered in skin.
Why do giraffes have bumps on their heads?
When a giraffe is born, he has little bumps on his head that will eventually become his ossicones. These bumps are full of cartilage that isn’t attached to his skull. The bumps start to grow and ossify, beginning at the tip and hardening down toward the base of the horns.
Why do female giraffes have ossicones?
Giraffe ‘horns’ are not actually called horns but ‘ossicones’ and both female and male giraffe have them. They add extra weight to the head of male giraffe, which often increases with age, enabling them to deliver ever heavier blows during their necking contests.
What is the pattern on a giraffe called?
Giraffe’s patches (spots) are first and foremost for camouflage. But underneath each patch lies a very sophisticated system of blood vessels. Around each patch there is a quite large blood vessel that then branches off into smaller vessels underneath the patch.
How many ossicones do giraffes have?
Both male and female giraffes have two distinct, hair-covered horns called ossicones. Male giraffes use their horns to sometimes fight with other males.
Did giraffes have antlers?
The giraffe’s “horns” however, are not antlers — they are permanent outcroppings of bone from the skull, called “ossicones.” Giraffes are born with them, and they are covered with hair (except for adult males, who wear away the fur at the end).
Why do giraffes have horns?
A best guess is that the giraffe’s “horns” were originally support structures for their antlers — sockets that supported the large racks which deer find so handy during mating season in their tests of strength and dominance. To speculate a bit, as giraffes grew taller, and their necks thinner,…
Do all giraffes have horns?
Both male and female giraffes have horns. Females’ horns are thinner with dense hair, while males’ horns are thicker with hair smoothed from sparring with other males. A male may grow a second pair of horns behind the first pair.
Do female giraffes have horns?
Giraffe horns are not actually called horns but ossicones and both female and male giraffe have them. Ossicones are formed from ossified cartilage and are covered in skin. Giraffe are born with their ossicones, however, they lie flat and are not attached to the skull to avoid injury at birth.
What are the physical characteristics of a giraffe?
Physical Characteristics. Giraffes stand up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) to the top of the head and weigh 460 to 4,250 pounds (210 to 1,930 kilograms). When compared to the long neck (up to 8 feet, or 2.4 meters), the body is short. Legs are long and end in hooves the size of dinner plates.
