THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CHEEK PADS OF THE BROWN LEMMING, LEMMUS SIBIRICUS (TRIMUCRONATUS) (KERR)

Brown lemmings, Lemmus lemmus and L. sibiricus (trimucronatus), possess thickened pads of skin on the cheeks, and some, at least, also bear a thinner pad on the rump above the tail. The cheek pad is formed chiefly by a remarkable abundance of collagen fibers in the reticular layer of the dermis. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Zoology
Main Authors: Macpherson, A. H., Gibson, M. A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1965
Subjects:
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Kerr
Lemmus lemmus
Lemmus sibiricus
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z65-061
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z65-061
Description
Summary:Brown lemmings, Lemmus lemmus and L. sibiricus (trimucronatus), possess thickened pads of skin on the cheeks, and some, at least, also bear a thinner pad on the rump above the tail. The cheek pad is formed chiefly by a remarkable abundance of collagen fibers in the reticular layer of the dermis. The pad appears capable of considerable movement, and is underlain by a well-developed system of dermal muscles. The thickness of the pad appears to be related to age. The apparent function of the pads is to protect the parts of the animal to which bites are directed during intraspecific combat.

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