Re: Otters Keep Warm With Hair, Not Fat
- From: Rich Travsky <" traRvEsky"@hotmMOVEail.com>
- Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 23:50:32 -0600
Marc Verhaegen wrote:
>
> "Lee Olsen" <paleocity@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1124485367.461827.294020@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> > > Yes, Richie, otters are smaller than humans, and they don't live in the
> tropics... Sigh...
>
> > Tropical otters http://www.wwfguianas.org/feat_spec_giant_otter.htm
>
> Yes, of course. Sorry, I must have been in a hurry (as always when I'm
No marc, you're a careless person and your "theories" reflect this.
> reading Travsky's (usu.biased & uninteresting) posts). Yes: it seems that SC
> fat (too heavy) is no option for rel.small-sized fast riverrine semi-aquatic
> divers. Also in deeper divers, the water pressure reduces the air layer in
> the fur, eg, sea-otters spend 1-2 hrs per day pruning their fur (eg,
> bringing air into the underfur). IOW, they might be at least 6 possible
> water-related partial explanations why our ancestors lost the fur, and
> otters didn't: our littoral ancestors were always tropical, were larger,
> spent (most?) time in salt water, dived more slowly, & possibly they dived
> deeper &/or spent more time in the water. Perhaps the necessary
> swimming-speed (pisci- vs omnivore) was most important here? Babirusas are
> about as heavy as humans & about as hairy & tropical.
>
> --Marc
> ______
>
> > >
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-2005081
> 8-23295600-bc-us-otters.xml
> > > >
> > > > PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Otters -- unlike polar bears, seals,
> > > dolphins
> > > > and whales -- do not have a thick layer of body fat to keep warm,
> > > according
> > > > to U.S. researchers.
> > > >
> > > > Otters rely instead on a few unique adaptations -- their fur and the
> > > densely
> > > > packed layer of specially adapted underhairs.
> > > >
> > > > Using scanning electron microscopy and polarizing light microsopy,
> John
> > > W.
> > > > Weisel, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
> examined
> > > the
> > > > structure of these hairs for clues to their exceptional insulation
> > > abilities.
> > > >
> > > > They found that the cuticle surface structure of the underhairs and
> base
> > > of the
> > > > less-abundant guard hairs are distinctively shaped to interlock, with
> > > > wedge-shaped fins or petals fitting into wedge-shaped grooves between
> > > fins of
> > > > adjacent hairs.
> > > >
> > > > The findings are published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.
> >
.
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