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A pair of horns on a male impala Anatomy of an animal's horn. A horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head of various animals that consists of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct from antlers, which are not permanent.
True horns are found mainly among: Ruminant artiodactyls. Antilocapridae ; Bovidae (cattle, goats, antelopes etc.). Giraffidae: Giraffids have a pair of skin covered bony bumps on their heads, called ossicones. Cervidae: Most deer have antlers, which are not true horns due to lacking a bone core and made of keratin.
[39] [40] The unique horn structure is the only unambiguous morphological feature of bovids that distinguishes them from other pecorans. [41] [42] A high correlation exists between horn morphology and fighting behaviour of the individual. For instance, long horns are intended for wrestling and fencing, whereas curved horns are used in ramming. [43]
The horns, of medium size by large bovid standards, grow to a length of 60 to 115 cm (24 to 45 in). [14] The cow is considerably lighter in colour than the bull. Her horns are more slender and upright, with more inward curvature, and the frontal ridge is scarcely perceptible. In young animals, the horns are smooth and polished.
Bos (from Latin bōs: cow, ox, bull) is a genus of bovines, which includes, among others, wild and domestic cattle.. Bos is often divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but including these last three divisions within the genus Bos without including Bison is believed to be paraphyletic by many workers on the classification of the genus since the 1980s.
Stockmen shaved cows’ ears and the bases of their horns — the equivalent of a fresh human haircut to charm show judges and win prizes that boost an animal’s auction price.
The horns of the aurochs had a characteristic and relatively stable shape. At the base they grew outwards-upwards, then forwards-inwards and inwards-upwards at the tips. Aurochs horns were large and thick overall, reaching 80–100 cm in length and 10 cm or more in diameter. [12] However the horns of Heck cattle differ in many respects.
The wild species of bovins are found in North America, Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa, though domesticated species or variants have a global cosmopolitan range with the help of humans. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] With the exception of the open-plains dwelling American bison and the montane-dwelling wild yak , all species of wild cattle inhabit wooded or ...