Antlers are a structure, composed of bone, which can be found in the members of the deer family (Cervidae), including deer, elk, moose, and caribou. They have various purposes such as male competition during the breeding season (rut), defense against predators, and establishing dominance within a herd. During their growth phase the antlers are covered in a velvet-like skin which contains blood vessels that supply nutrients. Once fully grown, the velvet is shed, and the antlers harden. Eventually, the deer will shed its antlers, and the process starts anew.
The species of this antler fragment is unidentified.
It was scanned with an Artec Spider by undergraduate students from the Maastricht Science Programme at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University.
Lincoln, G. A. (1992). Biology of antlers. Journal of Zoology, 226(3), 517-528.
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