Ossicone facts for kids

Ossicones of a reticulated giraffe.

A fossilised ossicone from Sivatherium maurusium, an ancient relative of giraffes.

Ossicones are special, bony growths found on the heads of some animals. They look a bit like small horns or antlers. You can see them on giraffes and male okapis.

Long ago, some extinct animals also had ossicones. These included creatures like Sivatherium and Climacoceras. The way ossicones grow is quite similar to how a deer's antlers start.

What Are Ossicones?

Ossicones are different from the horns you see on animals like antelopes or cattle. Horns are made of a hard material called keratin, which is like your fingernails. Ossicones, however, are made from cartilage that has turned into bone.

Another big difference is that ossicones always stay covered in soft skin and fur. This is unlike horns, which are bare. It's also different from antlers, which shed their skin covering.

Ossicones vs. Antlers

Antlers are found on animals like deer. They are made directly from bone tissue. When antlers are growing, they are covered in a fuzzy skin called "velvet."

Once antlers are fully grown, this velvet skin peels off. This leaves the hard, bare bone of the antlers exposed. Deer often rub their antlers against trees to help remove the velvet. Ossicones never shed their skin covering.

Animals with Ossicones

The most famous animals with ossicones are giraffes. Both male and female giraffes have them. They use their ossicones for defense and sometimes when males fight over mates.

Male okapis also have ossicones. Okapis are related to giraffes but look more like zebras with their striped legs. Their ossicones are smaller than a giraffe's.

Extinct Relatives

Scientists have found fossils of ancient animals that had ossicones. These include large, giraffe-like creatures such as Sivatherium. These fossils help us understand how ossicones have changed over millions of years.

Some of these extinct animals, like Shansitherium, had ossicones in many different shapes and sizes. This shows how diverse these head growths once were. Today, we only see a few types of ossicones on living animals.

Images for kids

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  Ossicones of a giraffe

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  Ossicones of a male okapi

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  An illustration of extinct Shansitherium and Palaeotragus microdon. They show the many shapes of ossicones from the past.

See also

In Spanish: Osicono para niños