What is the difference between antler and horn

MF: And the other hand we have cows, and goat-like animals. CS: Yes, so things like bison, and water buffalo, big horn sheep, mountain goats, things like that. And then it gets confusing, there are exceptions right? MF: I guess I never noticed that. I picture the herds of tens of thousands of caribou, and I guess they all have horns. CS: Antlers. MF: Antlers! Sorry, antlers! Which brings me to the whole antler thing - if they have to make those huge things every year, that takes a lot of energy, and material, and nutrition.

Noon Edition. Home Archives About Contact. By Heather Love Posted September 3, Media Player Error Update your browser or Flash plugin. How To Tell Them Apart? Antlers Belong To Males Which brings us to our last big difference. Read More: Lincoln, G. Here are the key differences between antlers and horns. Plus other animals with horn-like growths. And the largest horns and antlers on the planet.

Horns and antlers are different. Antlers are a bone that is regrown each year. Horns exist on antelope and bighorn sheep, while antlers exist on deer species. Horns and antlers have different shapes and purposes.

Horns and antlers are made of different materials, grow and exist for different amounts of time, and serve different purposes. The terms horn and antler are often used interchangeably. You might be surprised to learn which animals have horns and which have antlers. Horned animals are classified into two families.

And animals with antlers are classified into a distinct family. What animals have antlers? Antlers are skull extensions in members of the deer family Cervidae. Typically antlers are only found in males. What animals have horns? True horns are found in the Antilocapridae pronghorn and Bovidae cattle, goats, antelope etc.

And they mainly include the ruminant artiodactyls. While these animals are classified as having horns or antlers, there is some uniqueness among each group. For example, a pronghorn sheep has horns, but like antler-growing animals, it sheds the hard shell of its horns every year while most horned animals maintain their horns and outer shell throughout their lifetime.

As mentioned earlier, antlers take on branch-like formations, and horns take on two part structures. In species such as the reindeer , the branches in the antler may be more intricate and have a larger span. Horns take on different shapes and in some species, like in the pronghorn antelope, animals may even have branched horns.

Other than that you can observe short horns that go upwards, spiraling horns, and thick horns facing a downward direction.

The biggest difference observed when comparing antler vs horn is their material and genetic makeup. After reading this, take a look at some photos of reindeer antlers and then compare them to photos of goat horns.

Antlers are covered with soft, spongy, velvet on the outside and sport blood, nutrients, and spongy bone marrow on the inside. Right before the annual rutting season, deer antlers shed their velvet to reveal a thick enamel and prepare for battle.

But this only lasts for a small period of time. The entire antler quickly sheds off after mating season, and the growth cycle begins anew, with many deer species growing larger antlers in subsequent years. Horns are completely different in every aspect. Internally, antlers have hormones, blood, and nutrients to facilitate and promote growth.

Horns, on the other hand, grow through special hair follicles. Really, horns treat growth as an extension of the skull. The exterior is also very different from antlers. Unlike in antlers, horns are very hard and polished on the outside.