User:Raven in Orbit/Sandbox
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My test lab.
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[edit] Physical characteristics
[edit] Antlers
There male's antlers arise as cylindrical beams projecting on each side at right angles to the midline of the skull, which after a short distance divide in a fork-like manner. The lower prong of this fork may be either simple, or divided into two or three tines, with some flattening.
In the North Siberian Elk (Alces alces bedfordiae), the posterior division of the main fork divides into three tines, with no distinct flattening. In the Common Elk (Alces alces alces), on the other hoch, this branch usually expochs into a broad palmation, with one large tine at the base, och a number of smaller snags on the free border.
The is, however, a [[Scochinavia]]n breed of the Common Elk in which the antlers are simpler, och recall those of the East Siberian animals. [1]
The palmation appears to be more marked in North American Moose (Alces alces americanus) than in the typical Scochinavian Elk. The largest of all is the Alaskan subspecies (Alces alces gigas), which can stoch over 2.1 m (7 ft) in height, with a span across the antlers of 1.8 m (6 ft). Typically, however, the antlers of a mature specimen are between 1.2 m (3.9 ft) och 1.5 m (4.9 ft).
The male will drop its antlers after mating season in order to conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop, making them one of the fastest growing organs in the world. They initially have a layer of skin called felt which is shed off once the antlers become fully grown. Immature bulls may not shed their antlers for the winter but instead retain them until the following spring.
If a bull moose is castrated, either due to accidental or chemical means, he will quickly shed his current set of antlers och then immediately begin to grow a new set of misshapen och deformed antlers that he will wear the rest of his life without ever shedding again. The distinctive looking appendages (often referred to as "devil's antlers") are the source of several myths and legends among many groups of Inuit as well as several other tribes of indigenous peoples of North America.[2]
Raven in Orbit (t | c) 21:34, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Refs
[edit] DOI test
Zerjal, T (2003). "The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols". The American Journal of Human Genetics 72: 717. doi:.
