Hair (and a coat of hairs, called fur or pelage) is uniquely mammalian. No other creature possesses true hair, and at least some hair is found on all mammals at some time during their lives. Hairs grow out of pits in the skin called follicles.

Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair.

2025年3月19日 · Hair, in mammals, the characteristic threadlike outgrowths of the outer layer of the skin (epidermis) that form an animal’s coat, or pelage. Hair is present in differing degrees on all mammals. On adult whales, elephants, sirenians, and rhinoceroses body hair is limited to scattered bristles.

All mammals have hair, including marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. Hide (or fur) is one characteristic that defines a mammal. The skin insulates against the cold, but whiskers are used as sensory organs, especially in nocturnal animals.

2024年9月7日 · All mammals have hair growing from some parts of their bodies during at least some stage of their life cycle. Mammalian hair can take on several different forms, including thick fur, long whiskers, defensive quills, and even horns.

Mammals exhibit a wide range of hair types, reflecting their adaptations to specific environments. For instance, some species have long, dense fur for cold climates, while others feature short, fine hair for tropical settings.

2016年5月11日 · One of the features shared by nearly every mammal species on Earth — from antelopes to zebras, and even humans — is that their bodies are covered in structures known individually as "hairs" and...

Mammalian hair consists of three distinct morphological units, the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. In addition to these units pigment bodies and other inclusions can help distinguish one hair type from another.

2023年8月25日 · The earliest known evidence of hair is actually the presence of whiskers – functional hairs used to sense the surrounding environment – on therapsids, mammal-like reptiles which existed around 290 million years ago and are known as the ancestor of modern mammals.

2024年6月18日 · From the dense underfur of aquatic mammals to the sensory vibrissae of felines, we examine how evolutionary forces have shaped the hair of mammals to enhance their survival and adaptability in diverse habitats.