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Pelage
 
 
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In mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, pelage is the hair
Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
, fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
, or wool
Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
 that covers the animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
. In many mammals, the pelage is made up of more than one type of hair. Some of the most prominent types of hair that make up the pelage include guard hairs (such as the defensive spines of porcupine
Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp Spine , or quills, that defend them from predators. They are endemic in both the Old World and the New World....
s), bristles (which make up the mane
Mane

Mane can have the following meanings:*The mane is used to describe the line of hair along the spine of the neck, starting behind the ears and ending just above the withers....
 of lions), and the underfur, which traps in air to maintain temperature.

The pelage often molts (process that sheds hair) at various times in the animal's development.






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In mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, pelage is the hair
Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
, fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
, or wool
Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
 that covers the animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
. In many mammals, the pelage is made up of more than one type of hair. Some of the most prominent types of hair that make up the pelage include guard hairs (such as the defensive spines of porcupine
Porcupine

Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp Spine , or quills, that defend them from predators. They are endemic in both the Old World and the New World....
s), bristles (which make up the mane
Mane

Mane can have the following meanings:*The mane is used to describe the line of hair along the spine of the neck, starting behind the ears and ending just above the withers....
 of lions), and the underfur, which traps in air to maintain temperature.

The pelage often molts (process that sheds hair) at various times in the animal's development. The juvenile pelage may go through an intermediate form before settling to an adult appearance.

The pelage in modern mammals serves to protect its owner from heat and cold, as means to signal (e.g., the contrasting pattern of striped skunks can be a warning to predators), defense (by matching the color of the pelage to that of the immediate surrounding
Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain invisibility through deception....
), as well as to protect the animal from abrasion, and insect bites.

The embryos of various mammals, including humans, are covered with a pelage called lanugo
Lanugo

Lanugo is fine, downy hair; it is a type of pelage....
.