Knowra Antler Antler An antler is a bony structure that grows from a deer's skull and is usually shed and regrown each year. Unlike permanent horns, antlers are branched and covered by skin while growing.
Velvet (zoology) : Velvet is the vascular skin covering a growing antler, supplying oxygen and nutrients to its bone. It covers the antler during growth and is shed after the bone hardens.
Cervidae : Cervidae is the mammalian family that includes deer, elk, moose, and reindeer. Antlers are characteristic of this family, though their presence varies among species and sexes.
Sexual selection : Sexual selection is natural selection driven by differences in mating success. Antlers can help males compete with rivals and influence access to mates.
Moose : The moose is the largest living deer species, native to northern forests and wetlands. Its broad, palm-shaped antlers are among the largest produced by any living deer.
Osteogenesis : Osteogenesis is the formation of new bone by specialized bone-forming cells. Antlers are the only mammalian bones known to regenerate completely after shedding.
Horn (anatomy) : A horn is a usually permanent projection with a bony core covered by keratin. Unlike antlers, horns generally persist rather than being shed and regrown each year.
Rutting season : The rut is the seasonal period when many deer mate and males compete for females. Mature antlers are displayed and used in contests during the rut.
Reindeer : The reindeer is a circumpolar deer species domesticated in parts of northern Eurasia. Both males and females commonly grow antlers, an unusual pattern among deer.
Photoperiodism : Photoperiodism is an organism's response to changes in the relative lengths of day and night. Changing day length helps time antler growth and shedding through seasonal hormone shifts.
Keratin : Keratin is a tough structural protein found in hair, nails, claws, and many animal coverings. It forms the outer material of true horns, not the bone of antlers.
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