title: Sensory Hairs in the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia).
abstract: We studied the histology and morphometrics of the hairs of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). These whales are hairless except for two patches of more than 300 hairs on the rostral tip of the lower lip and chin, the rostral tip of the upper lip, and a bilateral row of approximately ten hairs caudal to the blowhole. Histological data indicate that hairs in all three of these areas are vibrissae: they show an outermost connective tissue capsule, a circumferential blood sinus system surrounding the hair shaft, and dense innervation to the follicle. Morphometric data were collected on hair diameters, epidermal recess diameters, hair follicle length, and external hair lengths. The main difference between the hairs in the different regions is that blowhole hairs have larger diameters than the hairs in the chin and rostrum regions. We speculate that the hair shaft thickness patterns in bowheads reflect functional specializations.
authors: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio.|School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
authors: Summer E
authors: SE
authors: Drake
authors: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio.
authors: Samuel D
authors: SD
authors: Crish
authors: Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska.
authors: John C
authors: JC
authors: George
authors: Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska.
authors: Raphaella
authors: R
authors: Stimmelmayr
authors: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio.
authors: J G M
authors: JG
authors: Thewissen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050642:Bowhead Whale / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004817:Epidermis; D006197:Hair / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008046:Lip / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: Cetacea; anatomy; hair; vibrissa; whale