Adaptive differentiations of the skin of the head in a subterranean rodent, Spalax ehrenbergi

Journal of Morphology
G KlauerE Nevo

Abstract

The skin of macroscopically distinct regions (hairy skin, vibrissal fields, buccal ridge, and rhinarium) of the head of the blind mole-rat, Spalax ehrenbergi, was studied by routine histological methods. Few guard and several soft vellus hairs are organized into tufts that grow from a group of hair follicles localized in an invaginated compound cavity. We suggest that this hair arrangement may be a burrowing adaptation to match frictional resistance. The follicles and the compound cavity possess either well developed complex striated musculature or errector pili muscles. There are no structural specializations (sweat glands, glomus bodies) to enhance thermoregulatory (heat dissipative) capacities in the hairy skin of the head. Vibrissae penetrate the epidermal surface as single hairs. They are microscopically normally developed and arranged in vibrissal fields according to a basal mammalian pattern. Most of them are, however, relatively short and inconspicuous. The mystacial vibrissal field is horizontally divided by a prominent buccal ridge which is probably involved in bulldozing. The hairs in the ridge leave the compound cavity singularly. The follicles of guard hairs and bristles are equipped with well developed pilo-Ruffin...Continue Reading

References

Mar 1, 1978·Brain : a Journal of Neurology·J E O'Connell
Feb 15, 1991·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·E NevoH Pratt
Dec 1, 1973·The Journal of Physiology·K M GottschaldtD W Young
Feb 15, 1993·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·H M CooperE Nevo

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Citations

Aug 10, 2002·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Gilles BronchtiZvi Wollberg
Dec 20, 2002·Current Opinion in Neurobiology·Tali Kimchi, Joseph Terkel
Jun 18, 2017·Journal of Morphology·Michael Laaß, Anders Kaestner
Oct 4, 2005·The Anatomical Record. Part A, Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology·Deborah L HuntLeah Krubitzer
Nov 12, 2005·Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology·U B WilliP M Narins

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