Earlashes: a major facial feature hiding in plain sight

What do you notice about this view of the face of the sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)? https://www.pt63.co.uk/pics/013053891-indian-deer

Nothing in particular?

Try again. How about this view of the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)? https://www.art.com/products/p13472210-sa-i2683988/thorsten-milse-kangaroo-island-kangaroo-macropus-fuliginosus-flinders-chase-n-p-south-australia-australia.htm?upi=P2RJ5Q0&PODConfigID=4990619&sOrigID=27402

Still unsure what I'm referring to?

Surely this view of the dhole (Count alpinus) gives a hint too big to miss? https://faunafocus.com/2018/03/28/dhole-28/

That's right, you are looking at earlashes, one of the most overlooked body parts in animals.

This is Wikipedia on earlashes:

(That's right. Nothing.)

Earlashes - the stiff hairs forming a partial curtain on the front of the ear pinna - are obvious in innumerable photos in iNaturalist and elsewhere on the web. However, as far as I know there has been no mention of them, as such, in the zoological literature. They have been 'hiding in plain sight' even though they are an important facial feature in many families of mammals.

One of the reasons why we humans tend to be oblivious to earlashes is that they happen to have been minimised in the evolution of primates.

In fact, even the cartilaginous ridge which bears the earlashes in other mammals and which remains (hairless) in humans has never received a name (see https://fpnotebook.com/_media/ent_earExternal.png and https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/anatomy-of-the-human-ear-vector-illustration-gm1244877377-363009612 and https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/471104-human-ear-structure-medical-background-poster and https://elementsofmorphology.nih.gov/anatomy-ear.shtml and http://www.visualdictionaryonline.com/human-being/sense-organs/hearing/pinna.php and https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/443463894542150161/ and https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Anatomical-landmarks-of-Human-Ear_fig1_236462167).

One of the remarkable facts about earlashes is that they tend to be whitish, even in mammals with otherwise darkish ear pinnae.

For example, the earlashes are easy to see because they are particularly pale in Osphranter robustus (https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/portrait-of-a-wallaroo-australia-royalty-free-image/1291570919?adppopup=true) and Osphranter antilopinus (https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/antilopine-wallaroo-queensland-australia-news-photo/72414285?adppopup=true).

The following is a selection of illustrations of earlashes in various carnivores and ungulates.

Cuon alpinus

https://www.jungledragon.com/image/61605/dhole_-_adult_portrait_zie-zoo_netherlands.html/zoom
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-dhole-582778501
https://www.flickr.com/photos/coastermadmatt/37530331026/

Lycaon pictus

https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/african-wild-dog-lycaon-pictus-pup-close-up-of-head-kwando-lagoon-linyanti-botswana/FHR-10354-00384-833

Chrysocyon brachyurus

https://news.mongabay.com/2015/12/the-maned-wolf-saving-south-americas-unfortunately-named-canid/
https://animal-groups-roleplay.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:Ashesandcinders/Theta_Page_Coding

Felis lybica griselda

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-wild-face-portrait-eyes-ears-african-pussycat-cat-domestic-cat-desert-142761328.html

Leptailurus serval

https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/savannah-cats-vs-servals-theyre-not-the-same/

Bubalus carabanensis

https://www.shutterstock.com/nb/image-photo/close-one-ear-buffalo-1980266327

Syncerus nanus

https://stock.adobe.com/sk/search/images?k=%22congo+buffalo%22&asset_id=264529775
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/African_forest_buffalo

Tragelaphus eurycerus

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-zoo-visitors-can-size-up-newborn-bongo-antelopes/212963491/

Strepsiceros strepsiceros

https://www.flickr.com/photos/charissadescandelotter/37180972132/
https://focusedcollection.com/203451630/stock-photo-portrait-female-greater-kudu-kalahari.html
https://unsplash.com/photos/QVbv-gsswtE

Rusa unicolor

https://www.planetstillalive.com/asia/india/india-sambars/#prettyPhoto[gal]/1/
https://www.planetstillalive.com/asia/india/india-sambars/#prettyPhoto[gal]/8/

Posted on September 15, 2021 10:57 AM by milewski milewski

Comments

In the following unusual individual of Equus asinus, most of the long, pale hairs do not qualify as earlashes because they grow from other parts of the anterior surface of the ear pinna: https://www.dreamstime.com/sad-bored-donkey-close-up-background-nature-image228653660.

Posted by milewski over 2 years ago

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