Wattle (anatomy)
A wattle is a fleshy
snoods, and earlobes. Wattles are generally paired structures, but may occur as a single structure when it is sometimes known as a dewlap. Wattles are frequently organs of sexual dimorphism. In some birds, caruncles are erectile tissue and may or may not have a feather covering.[1][2]
Wattles are often such a striking
Red Wattle
.
Birds
Function
In birds, wattles are often an ornament for courting potential mates. Large wattles are correlated with high testosterone levels, good nutrition, and the ability to evade predators, which in turn indicates a potentially successful mate. Ornamental organs such as wattles may be associated with genes coding for disease resistance.[3] In umbrellabirds, the wattle serves to amplify the birds' calls. [4]
Examples
Birds with wattles include:
- From the neck or throat
- Birds of the genus cassowaries
- Galliformes (e.g., wild turkeys,[5] chickens)
- Some vultures
- Some lapwings
- The male of the wattled starling
- SomeAustralian wattlebirds(Anthochaera spp.)
- The tieke or saddleback, and the huia
- The wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus)
- Three neotropical bellbird species
- From below or around the eyes
- The
- The wattled jacana (Jacana jacana)
- The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus)
- Many male pheasants
- Spectacled tyrant
- Gracula hill mynas
- Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata)
- The English carrier pigeon
Mammals
Mammals with wattles include:
- Some domestic goats have fleshy, fur-covered protuberances, called tassels, hanging on either side of the throat.
- Some domestic Red Wattlehave a fleshy protuberance hanging either side of the throat.
Gallery
-
A common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) with bright red facial wattles
-
A southern cassowary with double wattles hanging from the throat
-
A goat with small wattles at the base of its throat
-
Red Wattle pig with wattles at the base of the throat
See also
Look up wattle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Casque (anatomy)
- Crest (feathers)
- Galliformspecies
- Frontal shield
- Gular pouch
- Dubbing (poultry) - wattle amputation
References
- ^ John James Audubon, Dean Amadon, John L Bull. 1967 The Birds of America
- ^ Richard Bowdler Sharpe. 1888. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, British Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology
- S2CID 35053439.
- ^ The Hutchinson encyclopedia - Page 1087
https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1859862888
(Oxford) Helicon Publishing Ltd, Jane Anson, Michael Broers - 2000 -
The Amazonian species Cephalopterus ornatus, the ornate umbrella bird, has an inflatable wattle at the neck to amplify its humming call, and in display elevates a long crest (12 cm - 4 in) lying above the bill so that it rises umbrella-like above ...
- ^ "Hogan, C. Michael "Wild Turkey: Meleagris gallopavo", GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg 2008".
- ^ John White. 1790. Voyage to New South Wales