ArticleCommunications biology2023
The functional anatomy of elephant trunk whiskers.
Article in Communications biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patterns of interspecific variation in labial microarchitecture among anthropoid primates and the evolution of the hominin lips.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2026Article
- A somatosensory fovea in the fingertips of the Surinam toad.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Article
- REM-sleep twitching in adults and the maintenance of specialized sensorimotor systems.Current biology : CB · 2026Review
- MELEGROS: Monolithic Elephant-Inspired Gripper with Optical Sensors.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Trunk Tip Wear in Wild African Savanna Elephants.Integrative and comparative biology · 2025Article
- Can we study whisker movements to gain insights into the natural sensory behaviours of mammals?The Journal of physiology · 2025Review
- Larger brains and relatively smaller cerebella in Asian elephants compared with African savanna elephants.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
- Elephants develop wrinkles through both form and function.Royal Society open science · 2024Article
- Effect of the habitat and tusks on trunk grasping techniques in African savannah elephants.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Behavior and innervation suggest a high tactile sensitivity of elephant trunks. To clarify the tactile trunk periphery we studied whiskers with the following findings. Whisker density is high at the trunk tip and African savanna elephants have more trunk tip whiskers than Asian elephants. Adult elephants show striking lateralized whisker abrasion caused by lateralized trunk behavior. Elephant whiskers are thick and show little tapering. Whisker follicles are large, lack a ring sinus and their organization varies across the trunk. Follicles are innervated by ~90 axons from multiple nerves. Because elephants don't whisk, trunk movements determine whisker contacts. Whisker-arrays on the ventral trunk-ridge contact objects balanced on the ventral trunk. Trunk whiskers differ from the mobile, thin and tapered facial whiskers that sample peri-rostrum space symmetrically in many mammals. We suggest their distinctive features-being thick, non-tapered, lateralized and arranged in specific high-density arrays-evolved along with the manipulative capacities of the trunk.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.