 Reference Base  Structure and mechanical design of white rhino dermal armor |
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| Location: |
World |
| Subject: |
Morphology |
| Species: |
White Rhino |
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The collagenous dermis of the white rhino forms a thick, protective armor that is highly specialized in its structure and material properties when compared to other mammalian skin. Rhinoceros skin is three times thicker than predicted allometrically, and it contains a dense and highly ordered 3-D array of relatively straight collagen fibres. This structure has a steep stress-strain curve with very little 'toe', high elastic modulus (240MPa), high tensile strength (30MPa), low breaking strain (0.24) and high breaking energy (3MJm-3) and work of fracture (78Jm-2). In compression rhinoceros skin withstands average stresses and strains of 170MPa and 0.7 respectively, before yielding. These data show that the dermal armor of the rhino is very resistant to penetration and tearing by horns of conspecifics, as might occur during aggressive behaviour. Material properties of the integument rather than just its disproportionate thickness endow it with its peculiar mechanical attributes.
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