Ten times more nerve endings surround a seal whisker than a rat whisker.
Scientists believe whiskers help seals make smart choices when hunting
in the wild.
Credit: Fastily/Wikimedia Commons
9 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Sophia said,
It's cool that ten times more nerve endings surround a seal whisker than a rat whisker and that scientists think that the whiskers help seals make smart choices when hunting in the wild. It is also cool that almost all mammals, from walruses to wombats, have whiskers. For many animals, the special hairs that scientists call vibrissae serve important purposes. I also think that it is cool that scientist use that same word for nose hairs and whiskers, vibrissae.
Whisker growing process: First, whiskers are thicker and l usually longer. Second, the follicles that anchor vibrissae in the skin have many more nerve and blood vessel connections than do the follicles that hold regular hair. The specialized nerves, called mechanoreceptors, make whiskers sensitive to touch, just like your fingertips. (COOL)
Since whiskers stick so far out, they extend an animal’s sense of touch. Moving them can help too. Many mammals, including seals and cats, can sweep their whiskers back and forth. Others animals, like rats and mice, swish their whiskers in all directions.
I agree with Sophia. I think that it is interesting that almost all mammals have whiskers including humans. I also find it interesting that they have a scientific name. (vibrissae) I also agree that it is cool that whiskers are sensitive just like fingertips. It is also interesting that some animals are able to move their whiskers and others cannot. I'm so glad this message was posted. I learned a lot.
Ok. So whiskers are really cool. I totally agree with everything that the article said. On Emily, (my cat) I tried gently pulling her whiskers and make her whole lip move, so now I pretty much have proof that whiskers have different hair follicles than fur.
It is pretty cool that animals can move their whiskers up to 25 times per second! Dormice can hunt crickets with great accuracy because their whiskers. Apparently, whiskers can make animals see in the dark, and is that part of the reason why cats can see and hunt in the dark?
Like Sophia said, whiskers are sensitive to touch, like a human finger, but what I took form the article is that they are even more sensitive. What I don't understand is if whiskers are able to feel things, like if a cat was going through a narrow passage way, why do cats have whiskers right above their eyes that are pointing diagonally out?
Now I'm thinking about it, when I talk and Emily is in the she moves her ears and her whiskers to kind of find me and hear me, too. That's pretty cool! It's also cool that different whiskers are more sensitive than others.
I also liked the idea of having a robot with whiskers. It seems like it might come in handy one day.
Overall, whiskers are definitely an interesting topic to blog about.
I didn't know that whiskers were so useful! It is pretty cool how the shrews use their whiskers to help them catch crickets, and how vibrissae are beneficial to mostly all animals. Even though I learned a lot, I still have some questions. Does every animal that has whiskers use them in a special way? If so, how?
This was very interesting and I learned a lot, and I would like to learn a little more about whiskers.
This article was really interesting. It's amazing how harbor seals can tell sizes of paddles just by wake. Even so, I can't see how much use this would be in the wild. The shrews were really cool too.I can't believe that they know exactly where the cricket's head was. I believe that the bigger whiskers,the macrovibrissae, because not only was their accuracy decreased by half, they hit the crickets on the head less often. It's also really cool to see robots with whiskers. I wonder if our ancestors, what we evolved from, could do this with their whiskers, whether both genders had it, and where along the line it got lost.
That was cool. I thought that whiskers were just hair coming from an animal's face, but it can be used for so much more! The Etruscan shrews were a great example. With hair they caught almost every single cricket, but their success rate dropped to about half without them. Then there were there was that the seal has ten times more nerve ending that surround their whiskers then that of a rat. Also some animals use their whiskers to see in the dark! Then I was amazed when they created the robot. It uses artificial whiskers to move around in the dark.
I think that this was interesting because this is not something you would normally think about. It's interesting how the nerves around the whiskers can actually serve a purpose. I definitely agree with Izzy on everything she said. Whiskers are very interesting. I think that the test that the scientists conducted was good because they could find out more about whiskers. I think they should conduct the same test with a human, but obviously not with the same conditions because humans are different in many ways from seals and shrews. Overall, this article was interesting.
9 comments:
Sophia said,
It's cool that ten times more nerve endings surround a seal whisker than a rat whisker and that scientists think that the whiskers help seals make smart choices when hunting in the wild. It is also cool that almost all mammals, from walruses to wombats, have whiskers. For many animals, the special hairs that scientists call vibrissae serve important purposes. I also think that it is cool that scientist use that same word for nose hairs and whiskers, vibrissae.
Whisker growing process:
First, whiskers are thicker and l usually longer. Second, the follicles that anchor vibrissae in the skin have many more nerve and blood vessel connections than do the follicles that hold regular hair. The specialized nerves, called mechanoreceptors, make whiskers sensitive to touch, just like your fingertips. (COOL)
Since whiskers stick so far out, they extend an animal’s sense of touch. Moving them can help too. Many mammals, including seals and cats, can sweep their whiskers back and forth. Others animals, like rats and mice, swish their whiskers in all directions.
In conclusion I learned a lot.
I agree with Sophia. I think that it is interesting that almost all mammals have whiskers including humans. I also find it interesting that they have a scientific name. (vibrissae) I also agree that it is cool that whiskers are sensitive just like fingertips. It is also interesting that some animals are able to move their whiskers and others cannot. I'm so glad this message was posted. I learned a lot.
Ok. So whiskers are really cool. I totally agree with everything that the article said. On Emily, (my cat) I tried gently pulling her whiskers and make her whole lip move, so now I pretty much have proof that whiskers have different hair follicles than fur.
It is pretty cool that animals can move their whiskers up to 25 times per second! Dormice can hunt crickets with great accuracy because their whiskers. Apparently, whiskers can make animals see in the dark, and is that part of the reason why cats can see and hunt in the dark?
Like Sophia said, whiskers are sensitive to touch, like a human finger, but what I took form the article is that they are even more sensitive. What I don't understand is if whiskers are able to feel things, like if a cat was going through a narrow passage way, why do cats have whiskers right above their eyes that are pointing diagonally out?
Now I'm thinking about it, when I talk and Emily is in the she moves her ears and her whiskers to kind of find me and hear me, too. That's pretty cool! It's also cool that different whiskers are more sensitive than others.
I also liked the idea of having a robot with whiskers. It seems like it might come in handy one day.
Overall, whiskers are definitely an interesting topic to blog about.
I didn't know that whiskers were so useful! It is pretty cool how the shrews use their whiskers to help them catch crickets, and how vibrissae are beneficial to mostly all animals. Even though I learned a lot, I still have some questions. Does every animal that has whiskers use them in a special way? If so, how?
This was very interesting and I learned a lot, and I would like to learn a little more about whiskers.
Oh, by the way, I have three dogs, and most of the time I see them move their whiskers, and I never knew why until now.
This article was really interesting. It's amazing how harbor seals can tell sizes of paddles just by wake. Even so, I can't see how much use this would be in the wild. The shrews were really cool too.I can't believe that they know exactly where the cricket's head was. I believe that the bigger whiskers,the macrovibrissae, because not only was their accuracy decreased by half, they hit the crickets on the head less often. It's also really cool to see robots with whiskers. I wonder if our ancestors, what we evolved from, could do this with their whiskers, whether both genders had it, and where along the line it got lost.
Oh, and as a last comment, dormice are very cute.
That was cool. I thought that whiskers were just hair coming from an animal's face, but it can be used for so much more! The Etruscan shrews were a great example. With hair they caught almost every single cricket, but their success rate dropped to about half without them. Then there were there was that the seal has ten times more nerve ending that surround their whiskers then that of a rat. Also some animals use their whiskers to see in the dark! Then I was amazed when they created the robot. It uses artificial whiskers to move around in the dark.
I think that this was interesting because this is not something you would normally think about. It's interesting how the nerves around the whiskers can actually serve a purpose. I definitely agree with Izzy on everything she said. Whiskers are very interesting. I think that the test that the scientists conducted was good because they could find out more about whiskers. I think they should conduct the same test with a human, but obviously not with the same conditions because humans are different in many ways from seals and shrews. Overall, this article was interesting.
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